Dual Souls, the Other Half is Bronya

Ikki is a grown man, is it possible he got lost? Bronya calmly sat down and continued playing her game.

"Bronya isn't going to do anything? If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed at all."

Erm... did you really not notice? Bronya expressed doubt, "You didn't notice, Alice, are you sure?"

"I genuinely didn't notice," Arisugawa's tone was much more serious this time.

If even Shadow Killer didn't notice, then... it could only be that guy, right? Bronya maintained her emotionless tone, "Sometimes, luck is part of strength."

!!!

"What are you talking about, Bronya?" As an undercover agent, his instincts told him he might have been exposed.

"Alice knows, doesn't she?"

As she spoke, Bronya didn't even look up, "Bronya isn't interested in this, just do what you want to do."

In the evening, Ikki finally returned on his own. According to him, he got thirsty while training and went to buy a drink from a vending machine... but the vending machine was "conveniently" broken.

So, he had to go to the convenience store.

Along the way, he "happened" to encounter someone committing a crime and intervened to stop them.

Then, it was "just by chance"! He met Shinomiya Amane, the perpetually absent representative from Jumon Academy.

"He said he was my fan and was quite enthusiastic, which delayed things a bit."

Ikki scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Um... I'm very sorry for making everyone worry."

"..."

Bronya just listened without comment. However, her mind was buzzing: Don't you think... there are too many "coincidences" here?

This is interesting.

"Goddess's Excessive Grace," a power that grants wishes...

—All sorts of coincidences perfectly aligned to fulfill Shinomiya Amane's wish to meet Kurogane Ikki. The others didn't even notice, thinking it was just "coincidence."

The ten days of training passed quickly, and Byakuya finally arrived towards the end of the training period.

In the slacker group, Byakuya approached Arisugawa, "How is it? It's been a while, have you decided?"

"Byakuya, I don't understand what you're talking about."

After all, he was a professional, Arisugawa handled it perfectly; on the surface, there was no sign of a flaw.

"The 'Dawn Academy,' right?" But Byakuya wasn't playing games this time, he went straight to the heart of the matter.

!!!

After a moment of surprise, Arisugawa's expression gradually turned cold, like a soulless machine, "This is quite unexpected. Byakuya, how did you know?"

"I never said my ability was lightning," Byakuya smiled mysteriously, letting the other person fill in the blanks. Abilities are truly a wonderful thing; you can attribute anything to them.

"What are you going to do with me?"

As he spoke, a pair of twin daggers, "Dark Hermit," quietly appeared in Arisugawa's hands.

"Don't misunderstand, I have no intention of attacking you."

However, Byakuya didn't react, maintaining his unguarded demeanor, "I saw it, didn't I? In the final moments, you still chose to stand on our side..."

34. "Dawn"

Arisugawa remained silent. A killer couldn't be easily swayed.

"Not answering? Never mind, it has nothing to do with me anyway. You know what's best for you."

Byakuya didn't intend to say more and prepared to leave. He brushed past Arisugawa, "By the way, Shinomiya Amane's ability is fate manipulation."

"If you're thinking of backstabbing, save it. It's impossible to succeed."

After Byakuya left, Arisugawa stood alone in the shadows, as if time had stopped, remaining silent for a long time.

Arisugawa was born in Northern Europe, a place of perpetual cold and little warmth.

At that time, he and several other orphans were taken in by a kind nun and lived in the storage room of an old church, taking care of everyone along with a girl named Yuri.

Although their lives were impoverished, they both worked as Blade Dancers for the yakuza, barely managing to cover their expenses.

Despite not being wealthy, for Arisugawa, those were precisely the happiest times in his memory.

But later... for various reasons, the upper echelons, driven by profit, began a purge of the orphans.

Of course, those people wouldn't do it themselves, so they commissioned the local yakuza to clear out the orphans in the city, using any means necessary.

Arisugawa's younger brothers and sisters, and even Yuri, all died in the yakuza's purge.

Survival of the fittest. A sorrowful Arisugawa understood this truth. In his rage, he almost slaughtered the entire yakuza! However... the children he had protected witnessed it...

—He had protected them, but he had also lost them.

Finally, Arisugawa was taken by one of the passing "Twelve Apostles," the One-Armed Sword Saint, to be trained as an assassin.

He donated the one hundred million yen he received for selling himself to the convent, asking the nuns to take good care of his younger siblings. After that, he stepped into the world of darkness.

Carrying the title "Shadow Killer," his hands were already stained with too much blood to ever be cleansed.

Unknowingly, the sky had already darkened. Arisugawa, burdened by heavy thoughts, pushed open the dormitory door alone, "Shizuku, I'm back."

"Welcome back, Alice."

Although Shizuku wasn't selected as a representative, she still assisted others in training as a sparring partner, especially since the coach had run off.

Furthermore, even though they were at the training camp, Shizuku and Arisugawa were still assigned to the same dormitory.

"Shizuku, if one day I do something that betrays you, what will you do?"

Arisugawa looked at Kurogane Shizuku, as if seeing his own younger siblings far away in a foreign land. If not for that incident, would they have clung to him like Shizuku clung to Ikki?

"That's a sudden question."

Shizuku didn't think too much about it, only pondering for a moment, "Hmm... if Alice really did something, it would probably be out of necessity, right?"

"I probably wouldn't say anything, I'd just beat Alice up soundly, and then bring her back to get along like usual."

"..."

Unlike her past siblings, Shizuku was more determined and resilient. "Heh, as expected of Shizuku~"

"I can't really be happy about that kind of praise."

Although they hadn't spent much time together, Shizuku trusted Alice very much, truly seeing her(?) as an older sister.

As the two were chatting and laughing, a phone rang.

"Sorry, I need to take this call."

Swiping open her phone, Arisugawa's expression remained unchanged, but her eyes darkened in a way Shizuku couldn't see. Apologizing to Shizuku, she walked out of the room to answer the call.

"Hehe, Shadow Killer, take care of someone..."

When the training camp ended, everyone said goodbye to the students from Jumon Academy, packed their luggage, and boarded the bus back to their academy.

However... Byakuya noticed that someone seemed to be missing from their group.

"Where's Gagami?"

"Oh, Gagami-chan got slightly delayed due to something. She asked me to tell you not to worry."

Hearing this, Byakuya also remembered... in the original story, there seemed to be a part like this? Gagami had uncovered some secret information and was almost silenced by Arisugawa!

Emmm... it should be fine, right? Byakuya naturally walked up to Arisugawa, placing one hand casually on her shoulder, "What's so busy? About when will she be back?"

"Probably tomorrow."

Seeing that Arisugawa answered directly, Byakuya felt relieved. Since she could return, she was definitely not in mortal danger.

Meanwhile, Bronya sat near Ikki and Stella's seats. "Stella, you're barely qualified now. If you truly crave power, seek it within your own heart."

???

Stella was completely confused. Since she didn't understand, she naturally had to go ask for clarification. She leaned closer to Bronya, "What are you talking about, Bronya? Explain it clearly!"

"[Dragon]!"

Just one word, yet it made Stella feel a strong tremor! Bronya, however, stood up and walked away. "Stella, remember, you might be quite irritable then."

"Hey, what exactly are you talking about?"

"There are some things Stella has to experience for herself."

Bronya gave Stella a deep look before calming herself and beginning to meditate, secretly adjusting her state.

Even Byakuya was like this. Normally carefree, he now closed his eyes and sat quietly in his seat.

The journey was filled with laughter and joy, but it came to an abrupt halt at a certain moment. The bus slammed on its brakes – not far away, smoke was rising from the direction of Broken Blade Academy!

"What's going on? What happened?!"

As the student council president, Toudo Touka was the first to rush to the front, her gaze peering through the car window towards the academy not far away.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Toudo Touka thought of something and suddenly turned to look at Byakuya, "You know something, don't you, Byakuya."

"No need to worry. The academy should have already evacuated. I notified the Chairman earlier."

—The eyes that see the future!

The previous misunderstanding was now coming into play. Although Byakuya couldn't explain the specific reason, Kurono had weighed the options and listened, even rushing over herself to abandon her duties.

A bus crashed through the academy gates and skidded to a halt within the half-destroyed school.

Then, led by Toudo Touka, Stella, Ikki, and others quickly jumped out of the bus.

The scene was a disaster, as if... no, it was clear a great battle had taken place! The academy's paved roads were shattered, classrooms and dormitories were burning, spewing thick smoke.

"...This is too much!"

Just seeing this was enough to ignite anger in everyone's hearts, but then...

"Teacher Oregi! Classmate Ayatsuji!"

"Yuri-chan!"

"..."

Calls with their own distinct characteristics rang out. Oregi Yuri, Ayatsuji Ayase, and others responsible for the reception were found collapsed throughout the academy, which had been reduced to ruins.

"Ladies and gentlemen~"

At this moment, a flippant and comical voice sounded, drawing everyone's attention.

A tall, slender man in a clown costume stood atop the scorched and broken dormitory building, performing a comical bow. "Welcome back, delegation from Broken Blade Academy. Your long journey must have been tiring~"

"Did you do this?"

Ikki's expression turned cold, Yin Iron manifesting in his hand as he exuded a sharp aura.

Beside him, Shizuku and Stella moved forward in unison, revealing their Inherent Gears in a show of support for Ikki.

"Everyone, please don't rush~"

The clown continued with a smile, taking a step and leaping from the dormitory rooftop. "To be precise, it wasn't just me."

Behind the clown, more figures leaped down from the rooftop. Invisible threads spread through the air, catching them and allowing them to land steadily.

"Greedy Wolf Academy first-year freshman—'Unmoving' Tadara Yui!"