Dual Souls, The Other Half is Bronya

Furthermore, the collision of water and fire also vaporized a large amount of moisture, and a white mist spread, shrouding this area.

It was still the familiar office. Of course, this time White Night was just accompanying them here; the main responsibility wasn't his.

"Regardless of whether it's inside or outside the academy, deploying Inherent Gear in unauthorized locations is prohibited..."

"Normally, this would warrant a suspension, but since it's the first day, I'll let you off with a week of toilet cleaning. You can thank me for my lenient punishment~"

After the verdict was handed down, the two offenders were sent straight to clean the women's restroom, enforcement at maximum.

"Thank you very much, Chairman."

"I'm reflecting on my actions. I promise it won't happen again."

Stella and Shizuku hung their heads low, their bangs falling over their foreheads, casting shadows across their faces.

Ikki, White Night, and the others headed back first. On the way, Ikki suddenly noticed something. "By the way, Bronya seems to deploy her Inherent Gear quite often too, right? Don't you guys get punished for that?"

"Bronya had her motorcycle custom-made. No one can tell if Bronya's bike is real or not."

"Besides, even if I told you outright that this bike is my Inherent Gear... do you think you'd believe me?"

10. Weekend Invitation

"Kiriko-nee, good evening."

Night had fallen. Bronya lay on the bed in thin pajamas, a large expanse of fair skin exposed. Her flat tone carried a faint hint of excitement.

At the edge of the display, White Night showed half of his body and waved a greeting. "Yo, good evening, Kiriko-nee. Still busy?"

"Mm, I just finished adjusting everyone's condition." Yakushi Kiriko was still in her white lab coat, as if she had only just stepped away from work.

Aside from common illnesses, Yakushi Kiriko was also responsible for a group of terminally ill patients. Even as the top doctor in the Far East, she couldn't save them from the clutches of death.

All she could do was numb their pain, allowing them to have a peaceful final chapter.

Because of this, Yakushi Kiriko made rounds every day, checking on and adjusting the patients' conditions to prevent sudden deterioration.

"Don't overwork yourself, Kiriko-nee."

"Mm, nee knows. I'm a doctor, after all. How could I not understand my own condition?"

On the other end of the screen, Yakushi Kiriko smiled gently, tucking a strand of her short, wavy green hair behind her ear with a fair hand. "When I truly feel tired, I'll naturally rest."

"Kiriko-nee has already done well, hasn't she? At least everyone doesn't have to worry about sudden complications, or even need to watch their diet, or endure pain. They can peacefully and comfortably enjoy the rest of their lives."

"But in the end, I still can't save them..."

"...That's not your fault, Kiriko-nee."

"Alright, alright."

White Night clapped his hands beside her, breaking the heavy atmosphere. "Let's not talk about such heavy topics. Kiriko-nee, after we left, how have things been at the hospital?"

At this, Yakushi Kiriko composed herself. "Come to think of it, you haven't been to the hospital lately. Everyone has been missing you."

"By the way, anything interesting happen today?"

"Of course. That little sister of Ikki's..."

White Night was quite intrigued, telling Yakushi Kiriko about the day's events, sharing the juicy gossip he'd just gotten. But... he seemed not to notice~

As he spoke, Yakushi Kiriko's gaze seemed to grow deeper and deeper...

Bronya watched silently. Though they were the same person, under normal circumstances, their mental connection was severed, and they wouldn't communicate unless necessary.

How will this develop~ Bronya crossed her arms, her ample chest nearly spilling out, a slight smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

In the following days, the group trained normally, preparing for the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival.

"Clang--!"

Yin Iron and Myriad Phenomena clashed, grinding against each other as sparks flew from the blades.

Ikki and White Night locked eyes, sensing the unyielding will in each other's gaze!

Blades crossed, the two figures passed each other, then immediately attacked behind them. "Clang--!"

On the other side, Bronya was also sparring with Stella. This time, she wasn't using the katana mode but had switched to the Blue Flame Silver Falcon—Big Bronya's signature weapon.

"Fire!"

Unlike modern firearms, the Blue Flame Silver Falcon was highly advanced, using nearly pure energy ammunition, so it only made a faint mechanical sound, barely any noise.

A series of precise shots rained down on Stella, calculated to nearly seal off her movement options.

If she couldn't dodge, then she'd take it head-on! Stella erupted with Magic Power, a blazing fire slowly covering her body's surface—Dragon Robe!

"Blazing flames of hell, pierce through..."

Then, Magic Power continued to surge. From the looks of it, she was clearly planning to go all out.

"That won't do, Stella~"

Bronya quickly switched to light-saber mode, closing in on Stella in almost an instant and swinging her blade to interrupt her. "Using a Blade-Cutting Skill in a place like this will make the Chairman very angry."

"!!!"

A deep blue light blade came slashing in, forcing Stella to abort her channeling and meet it with the Dragon Sinner Sword, sparing the training ground from destruction.

Golden-red and deep blue sword lights intertwined, the intensity of their battle no less fierce than the other side.

When training ended, Ikki and Stella were slightly out of breath, sitting down to wipe sweat and rehydrate. White Night and Bronya, by contrast, looked as if nothing had happened.

"Ikki, your stamina training needs work~ A man can't afford to lose in endurance." White Night sat on the small park table, teasing Ikki beside him.

Bronya also walked over and leaned against White Night, just like the rumored "twins," inseparable.

"You two are seriously ridiculous."

On the other side, Stella had mostly caught her breath and turned her gaze to Bronya. "By the way, Bronya, is your stamina really A-rank?"

"It's written in the records, yes, an A-rank evaluation. What, does Stella have a question?" Bronya tilted her head, her flat tone giving off a dazed, cute impression.

"No, I mean, how did you train..."

Just then, the preparatory bell rang, cutting Stella off. Bronya stood and walked past her. "Just trained normally, and it turned out this way over time."

"Let's go, class is about to start." White Night followed close behind, leaving the space to the two of them.

The situation naturally played out from there. Not long after, White Night received a text inviting them out for the weekend. "Looks like what's meant to happen is happening."

"Isn't this exactly what White Night wanted to see?"

Bron scrolled through her handheld console, the electronic screen flashing rapidly, without looking up.

"What I wanted to see?"

White Night gazed out through the floor-to-ceiling window, his tone somewhat distant, but he quickly recovered. "Whatever, as long as it's fun. Have you thought about what to wear this weekend?"

"Bronya's fine with anything." Still scrolling on her console, Bronya replied rather perfunctorily.

"...Alright then~"

White Night didn't mind much. Clothes and looks? A good-looking person looks beautiful in anything—why make it complicated?

He opened his student handbook and initiated a call to the chairwoman. "Chairwoman Kurogane? I'd like to request permission to deploy Spirit Armor off-campus."

"You again, White Night. You should know that without a reason, this kind of request can't be approved."

"Didn't I mention before? I can vaguely see something. This time it's also a premonition—I might run into trouble this weekend."

"...Then talk to me when it actually happens."

Emmm... Hung up? White Night put down the student handbook, which showed the call had ended. "Guiding things step by step... this should be about enough~"

"Bronya has to remind White Night that people always have wishful thinking until they actually run into trouble."

As she spoke, fireworks bloomed on the electronic screen—game cleared! Bronya started the next round without changing expression.

"Of course I know that."

Beside her, White Night put away the student handbook and opened the wardrobe to pick out casual clothes. "But it's better than doing nothing, isn't it?"

"...Suit yourself~ Also, for casual clothes, remember to pick a set for Bronya too."

11. "Male Body, Female Heart" Arisugawa

Time came to the weekend.

"White Night really picked a sloppy outfit for himself."

( ? ? ? )

Bronya stared at White Night, her tone utterly flat. She'd said anything was fine earlier, but the result... an oversized black hoodie paired with white denim shorts.

Emmm... Truly minimalist to the extreme. But Big Bronya had proven that "8 > 50000," and her fully matured figure easily carried the look:

Pale, slender legs mostly exposed, contrasting sharply with the black hoodie, making her fair skin stand out even more. Her silver spiral hair draped over her shoulders...

"Not bad, Bronya~"

Facing White Night's teasing, Bronya didn't hold back at all, grabbing a pillow and smacking him right in the face. "Let's go. Being late wouldn't be good."

"Hey, coming, coming."

As Bronya walked past, White Night, who had been lying dead on the sofa, sprang up energetically and quickly caught up with her.

"Ara ara~ How surprising. To think someone as noble as Lady Stella..."

As expected, Shizuku and Stella were practically fire and water, immediately clashing in verbal sparring the moment they met. "...would actually enjoy this kind of commoner entertainment."

"I simply want to learn more about the Far East, so I was invited along by my master, Ikki."

Stella didn't back down either, even dragging up their previous bet as an excuse.

"Ikki, you guys are going this hard?"

White Night sidled up quietly, elbowing Ikki in the ribs, speaking in a teasing tone like a close friend ribbing him.

"That thing isn't serious."

"Heh~ What's the harm? You're basically getting a servant (wife) for free—a total steal, no loss."

As he spoke, White Night's gaze swept over Shizuku... she was dressed in a deep blue gothic lolita dress, her doll-like cute appearance paired with delicate makeup...

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with choosing the little sister type. If you had a sister like this, you'd be laughing all the way."

Emmm...

Hearing this, the corners of Ikki's mouth twitched slightly. White Night was incredibly strong, but this was his one flaw... a total troll, completely unreliable in normal times!

Ikki couldn't help but glance at Bronya. Coincidentally, Bronya also felt the teasing had gone on long enough.

She moved: her slender arms looped around from behind, wrapping around White Night's neck, a pair of full breasts pressing against him from the back, warm breath brushing against White Night's ear.

"Alright, White Night, that's about enough."

"...Fine, since you're saying that." With that, White Night finally let Ikki off the hook.

Next, attention shifted to Arisugawa Nagi... White Night had already learned about her from the anime, but this was his first time meeting in person. "I remember in class..."

"Her name is Arisugawa Nagi. I've seen her in class before," Bronya added from the side, cooperating with White Night.

White Night put on a look of "sudden realization." "Arisugawa, huh~ Speaking of which, you and Shizuku..."

"I'm Shizuku's roommate, Arisugawa Nagi, a girl who was accidentally born into the wrong body."

Arisugawa wore a dark trench coat, white gloves gently pressed to her chest as she introduced herself. "I really hate being called by my real name, so I hope everyone will call me 'Alice'~"

Then, she(?) took off her top hat, performed a very proper gentleman's bow to everyone, and smiled amiably as she extended her hand.

"Ahaha..."