A Romantic Battleground

"Huh? Me too?" Akutagawa Shang pointed at himself, looking utterly speechless.

"I don't even know you. Can I not answer?" Akutagawa Shang found an excuse to try to escape the kink police's questioning.

But Aoi Todo clearly had no intention of letting him escape:

"My name's Aoi Todo. What's yours?"

"Akutagawa Shang." He answered with his name without thinking.

"Good, now we know each other. Answer my question. I'll go first: I like tall women with big asses." Aoi Todo grinned and laughed without restraint.

"Huh? Seriously? That counts?" Akutagawa Shang looked thoroughly exasperated, clearly at a loss for words.

"Just answer him. It's not some earth-shattering secret." Maki patted his shoulder and tried to persuade him helplessly.

"Wait, you're resisting this so much... your kinks aren't something weird, are they?" The helplessness in Maki's eyes turned to suspicion, and even began shifting toward disgust, making Akutagawa Shang panic.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't get any weird ideas! It's not like you don't know what I like!" Akutagawa Shang hurriedly cupped her cheeks and kept kneading them.

"Mmph, mmph~~ Let go of me." Maki's face turned red from all his rubbing. Unable to speak clearly, she hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Oh~~ I was wondering why my dear big sister seemed different. Turns out she hooked herself a man in Tokyo." Mai never passed up an opportunity to take a dig at Maki. She brushed aside the stray hair in front of her eyes, looking at her as though she were trash, and slowly delivered her mocking words.

"Huh? Let go of me. Mai, what the hell are you barking about?" Maki pulled her face free of Akutagawa Shang's hands and immediately cursed back.

"Barking? Don't be so nasty, dear sister. I'm only telling the truth." Mai even stuck out her tongue as she spoke.

"You **, are you looking for a fight, Mai Zenin?" Maki already had her blade halfway out.

"Come on, then. Who's afraid of you?" Maki did not back down either, pulling out a handgun as though ready to throw down with Maki on the spot.

"Hey, hey, hey, Maki, calm down. Calm down." Seeing the two about to go at it again over a disagreement, Akutagawa Shang hurriedly began soothing her.

"Panda, aren't Maki and Mai sisters? Why are they arguing?" Still out of the loop, Yuta Okkotsu had absolutely no idea what was going on. How had they suddenly ended up on the verge of a fight?

"Well, maybe it's because of Akutagawa-san. Ah~~ Turning two sisters against each other all by yourself... Akutagawa-kun, you really are a sinful man~~" Panda, the chief shipper, stood to the side and offered everyone his analysis with a serious expression.

"Salmon." Toge Inumaki nodded, seemingly agreeing with Panda's opinion.

"Oh, so that's how it is. I see." Yuta Okkotsu nodded, only half understanding.

"What? This year's first-years have relationships this complicated? Still, this is interesting. I like it. Very spirited." Kinji Hakari chuckled nearby, clearly quite interested in watching the drama too.

"Enough!!!" Aoi Todo, who had been ignored on the sidelines, suddenly spoke up and interrupted the commotion.

"What are you doing? Look me in the eye." He reached out, grabbed Akutagawa Shang, and forcibly separated him from Maki.

Akutagawa Shang turned and met Aoi Todo's eyes, which burned with passion.

"Don't let outside distractions interfere. This is a conversation between men. It shouldn't be interrupted by women arguing. I'll ask you again: what kind of woman do you like?" He stared straight into Akutagawa Shang's eyes, his tone brooking no argument.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll tell you, all right?"

"If I really had to say, probably a mature woman over 168 centimeters. A bit taller, a pear-shaped figure, huge breasts, preferably a D cup or above, thick thighs and a perky ass, a faint natural fragrance, sound values, not fake or uptight, sunny and cheerful, the jealous type, someone who encourages me when I do things right and is forgiving when I mess up, who likes to hug me out of nowhere when she's in a bad mood, who can clearly express that she likes me and is willing to spend time with me. A slightly assertive older-woman type who makes me feel secure, I guess..." Stroking his chin, Akutagawa Shang slowly told Aoi Todo his preferences.

Aoi Todo stood where he was and slowly released his tight grip on Akutagawa Shang's shoulders. The passion burning in his eyes gradually faded.

He tilted his face upward at a forty-five-degree angle and slowly closed his eyes. Two streams of hot tears actually flowed from beneath his closed eyelids, as though he were receiving some sacred baptism.

"Tall, big ass... Akutagawa Shang... I've felt your soul. We're... best friends!!!" Aoi Todo slowly opened his eyes, tears streaming down his face. At that moment, false memories of time spent with Akutagawa Shang kept flashing through his mind.

"Wasn't I right? Older women reign supreme. Lolicons are nothing but small fry."

As Aoi Todo spoke, he suddenly threw out his arms and swept Akutagawa Shang into a full embrace, with so much force that Akutagawa Shang's feet left the ground.

"To think I'd meet two such interesting people in a single day. I can die without regrets."

Squeezed so tightly that his eyes rolled back, Akutagawa Shang kicked his legs uselessly in midair.

"Let... let go... I can't breathe..."

"Akutagawa Shang, wait for me at the Goodwill Event. I, Aoi Todo, will give it everything I've got! That's my respect for you!"

"Cough... cough, cough! Todo, if you keep squeezing, you're going to lose your perfect best friend!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Sorry, sorry! I get so excited I can't control my strength!" Only then did Aoi Todo snap out of it. Laughing heartily, he set Akutagawa Shang down and even straightened the collar he had crushed in his grip.

Everyone fell silent yet again.

On Kyoto Jujutsu High's side, Noritoshi Kamo's narrowed eyes suddenly opened wide, as though he could not believe what he had just seen. Kasumi Miwa's face was bright red. She hid behind Mai with both hands over her face, but the gaps between her fingers were enormous. Momo Nishimiya's expression had gone beyond mere shock; it was a look that said, "Why on earth did I come here today?" As the calmest person present, Mai Zenin looked at Akutagawa Shang and then Maki, her lips twitching. Everything went unspoken.

On Tokyo Jujutsu High's side, Panda raised his paws, then lowered them, finally managing only a long sigh. Yuta Okkotsu covered his face, not even daring to look their way. Toge Inumaki was even more direct, simply pulling up his collar as though to say he had heard nothing. Kinji Hakari, on the other hand, had quite enjoyed listening. He held Kirara Hoshi and laughed without a care.

Just then, a red-faced Maki suddenly walked over to Akutagawa Shang. In a rare display of shyness, she poked him with a finger. "Hey, all those things you just said... who were you talking about?"

As she spoke, a trace of anticipation seemed to appear in her eyes.

"Hehe, take a guess." Akutagawa Shang merely chuckled.

"You jerk, what nonsense are you saying?" The blush on Maki's face deepened, and she kept pounding him with her hands. But this was not training, and her blows were very light. If anything, it was more like flirting?

But just then, an ill-timed voice rang out again.

"Oh dear, my big sister really hasn't changed. Still so violent. What if you accidentally beat him until he runs away?"

"Mai Zenin, can't you shut up for a minute?"

"Oh, I'm just looking out for my sister. After all, no one wanted you back home, and you finally managed to hook someone in Tokyo. Of course you need to treasure him. Still, the boys at Tokyo Jujutsu High really do have peculiar tastes, liking a violent woman with nothing but muscles in her head."

"If my sister ever gets tired of hitting you, or you get sick of that violent woman, remember to come find me at Kyoto Jujutsu High. I'm much gentler than she is."

"Oh, I almost forgot. My sister and I are twins. I have everything she has. As for those things you mentioned that she doesn't have-I might have those too."

At that, Mai Zenin waved at Akutagawa Shang and even blew him a kiss. It looked like seduction, but also like... provocation?

"Akutagawa-san is done for," Panda said quietly.

"I bet five bucks Akutagawa Shang is going to get beaten badly." The gambling addict was at it again.

Caught between the two storm centers that were Mai and Maki, Akutagawa Shang could only tremble, weak and helpless.

Panda, the chief shipper, had completely stopped pretending now. His ears instantly pricked up, his black eyes sparkling with a burning thirst for gossip.

"Ohohoho-is this the legendary romantic battleground? So exciting."

Although Toge Inumaki still had his collar covering his face, his entire body leaned several inches toward them, like a fox catching the scent of gossip.

Kinji Hakari was laughing so hard his whole face had turned red. With one hand over his stomach and the other around Kirara Hoshi, he said, "This trip was worth it! This is better than a fucking fight! Who gives a shit about the competition anymore? I want to see rivers of blood!!!!"

Yuta Okkotsu covered his eyes with his hands, leaving a tiny gap to peek through.

"Should I... not be watching this?" he murmured.

"Mai Zenin!!! Just you wait."

Maki's face had gone from its earlier faint blush to completely flushed.

On Kyoto Jujutsu High's side, Kasumi Miwa was close to tearing Mai's sleeve apart. Her voice trembled. "M-Mai, this is way too... too intense... Maki really isn't going to charge over here and slash us, is she?"

"Oh, it's fine. What are you afraid of? She's just a Grade 4 sorcerer. Weak as hell." Mai laughed disdainfully.

"I'm waiting!"

"When the Goodwill Event comes, I'm going to... tie you up, hang you from a tree, and whip you!!!"

"Wow, I'm so scared. I'll be waiting." Mai even curled a finger at Maki as she spoke, making her even angrier.

Maki turned toward Akutagawa Shang, who was desperately trying to make himself less noticeable beside her. "Akutagawa Shang, what the ** are you looking at? Is she that pretty?"

Akutagawa Shang's lips trembled. "It was an accident... I only glanced at her."

"So you really fucking looked?"

"Tell me, is she prettier, or am I!!!"

"I was wrong!"

"Too late!"

Panda leaned his head toward Inumaki and whispered, "This is incredible."

Inumaki whispered back, "Salmon."

Yuta Okkotsu peeked through his fingers and murmured, "Do we... really not need to stop them?"

"It's fine. I believe in Akutagawa-san's abilities. He can handle all of this."

Keeping his voice low enough that only those beside him could hear, Panda launched into a frantic commentary.

"Incredible, incredible. I hereby declare this the opening warm-up performance for this year's Sister-School Goodwill Event. The actual competition doesn't matter anymore. Getting to see such an amazing romantic battleground would be worth the price of admission even if I died. What a rush!!!!"