The unique bond between us

Their chase reached a fever pitch.

Kazami Saku clutched the spots injured by her blows as he stumbled backward, while Suzune Horikita pressed forward, with no intention of letting off the guy who had deliberately set her up and deceived her. Their scuffling made quite a commotion, and neither noticed the figure approaching nearby.

Holding a folder of lesson plans, Chabashira Sae looked straight at the scuffling pair. Her voice was flat, yet carried a teacher's distinctive authority. "What are you two doing?"

At the sudden sound of their homeroom teacher's familiar voice, the two froze mid-scuffle.

Suzune Horikita instinctively reined herself in, shedding her earlier ferocity and returning to the posture of a model student.

Kazami Saku still had his arms crossed protectively over his body as he answered Chabashira-sensei's question in complete earnest.

"A thin barrier of demonic energy shelters me from the blazing sun and the tainted air of the mortal world."

Chabashira: ...

Horikita: ...

Before anyone could react, he spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of disdain for mere mortals.

"Heh. Ordinary mortals naturally cannot comprehend the unique bond between us."

Chabashira: "..."

In her years of teaching, she had seen mischievous students and students who talked back and made excuses, but this was her first encounter with an oddball who could spout nonsense with a perfectly straight face after being caught scuffling. A trace of speechlessness flashed through Chabashira-sensei's eyes, and she gave up on communicating with Kazami Saku.

Beside him, Suzune Horikita hurriedly waved her hands and explained, trying to salvage her innocence. "N-no, that's not it, Sensei! We weren't doing anything strange. He's talking nonsense!"

Seeing Horikita desperately trying to clear things up, Kazami Saku still remembered to twist the knife, his tone sincere and innocent. "Yes, just as Horikita said, it was nothing serious. I was merely thoroughly squeezed dry under her relentless assault."

"Squeezed dry?!"

Suzune Horikita stared daggers at Kazami Saku, a vein throbbing at her temple. What nonsense is this bastard spouting? If this reaches my brother's ears, Kazami Saku, you're dead.

"Why do you insist on wording it in such a misleading way?! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?! You're absolutely doing this on purpose!"

What had been nothing more than classmates messing around had, with a single sentence from him... become something she could never explain away.

Kazami Saku grumbled inwardly. Earlier, he had said he had never experienced her fatherly love, but now he had experienced it in full. That force, that ruthlessness-her blows were practically on par with a strict father's discipline.

Today, he had received the full trial package of the "fatherly discipline" he had never experienced before.

Seriously, it really hurt. He could sympathize with Ayanokoji for a day.

Looking at the pair, Chabashira Sae merely rubbed her brow helplessly and offered an offhand reminder. "You're in a public place. Don't take it too far."

There was no criticism, no lecture, not even a question about what had happened. With only that casual reminder, she waved a hand to signal that they could leave.

Watching the teacher stride away so casually, Kazami Saku froze on the spot, marveling inwardly.

Isn't this school a little too open-minded?! Chasing each other around in public and nearly breaking into an all-out brawl, and she just lets it slide? Aren't the teachers here a little too lenient about where they draw the line?

Before he could finish marveling, a bone-chilling pressure suddenly enveloped his entire body.

All the panic on Suzune Horikita's face vanished, replaced by icy coldness. The amusement in her eyes disappeared completely, and she radiated danger.

"All right, Chabashira-sensei is gone. Now it's time we properly settled our score."

Kazami Saku looked at Horikita, making his voice as gentle and sincere as possible. "Ah! Um, if I sincerely apologize now, could you let bygones be bygones?"

As it turned out, gentleness really could not save him.

Suzune Horikita looked at him coldly and delivered her killing reply without the slightest inflection. "If apologies worked, what would this world need justice for?"

Kazami Saku: "..."

He fell silent for two seconds before he could not resist muttering, "Comparing yourself to justice? You really are a little shameless, Horikita."

That sentence burned through the last of Suzune Horikita's patience.

"It seems you haven't felt the slightest remorse this entire time."

Suzune Horikita's gaze darkened, and she stepped straight forward.

Actually, I do feel a little. I just really couldn't resist making that comment.

"Hmph, you think you can actually beat me?" Kazami Saku blustered stubbornly, still thinking he could strike a pose and bluff his way through.

The next second, a short, crisp sound rang out.

Reality proved, cruelly and plainly, that Suzune Horikita really could overpower him with ease. Whether it was reaction speed, the technique behind her strikes, or close-quarters combat, Kazami Saku had no ability to fight back. He could only dodge clumsily and retreat again and again, completely overwhelmed from beginning to end.

Having finished his shopping and intending to head back to the dorm along the way, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji happened to spot Horikita and Kazami.

Only after Suzune Horikita reluctantly stopped and let the miserable Kazami Saku off did he slowly approach and ask softly, "Are you all right?"

Kazami Saku braced himself against the wall and let out a long sigh, his eyes looking particularly world-weary.

"I really wish you could have come over and asked when you first saw us. But after this incident, I've finally understood something."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji glanced sideways. "What?"

With a serious expression and an utterly earnest tone, Kazami Saku said, "Horikita was definitely holding back when she beat you up last time."

The blows Horikita had dealt Ayanokoji that day were on a completely different level from today's very real "sanction of justice."

If Suzune Horikita had gone all out back then, Ayanokoji probably would not have been able to stand there so calmly now, though he had looked pretty miserable at the time, too.

At those words, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji fell silent for a moment. A trace of helplessness passed through his eyes, and in the end he merely gave a quiet hum of agreement. The two of them could count as fellow sufferers. Is this what they call sharing hardships? Hmm, I have a deeper understanding of what friends mean now, though something still feels a little off.

Beside them, Suzune Horikita heard Kazami Saku's conclusion. She had thought he might have something constructive to say, but she had clearly given him too much credit.

After this incident, Kazami Saku silently laid down an ironclad rule in his heart: he and feminine beauty could never coexist... No, he could not make that vow so lightly after all.

Back in his dorm room, Kazami Saku looked at H Book Appreciation lv2 and H Website Exploration. He had truly never expected a day when he would have a use for these two skills.

After two hours of study, Kazami Saku discovered that the experience bars for both skills had actually risen a little.

Another hour later... he slapped his own cheek hard. Kazami Saku, snap out of it! You're here to strengthen your resistance to feminine beauty, not get sucked into it!

What a terrifying ability. Even someone with willpower as firm as mine fell for it. I really can't imagine how terrifying lv3 would be.

Still, the training was useful. The next time he faced Kushida, he would not agree to her requests so easily.

A mere Kushida was no longer worth his concern.