The girl's wine-red eyes swept across the room.
Her pale, expressionless face carried an aura of cold detachment, silently warning others to keep their distance.
"Ji Qi Ming. Please take care of me."
With that, she calmly walked toward the empty seat beside Kurosawa Ren and sat down, completely ignoring the teacher still speaking on stage.
"Ah… Ji Qi is a little shy. Please be kind to her."
The beautiful female teacher smiled gently, covering for the girl's independent attitude with grace.
She didn't seem bothered by Ji Qi Ming's bluntness and explained it away warmly.
"Alright, let's begin class. Everyone, open your history textbooks to page 115. Today, we'll be covering the Meiji Restoration period…"
"You're different."
The girl beside him spoke suddenly, her tone calm but curious, her crimson eyes fixed on his profile.
Kurosawa Ren raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh? What makes you say that?"
Ji Qi Ming was definitely the direct type.
Ren had read Another, so he had a soft spot for characters like her—aloof on the outside but with a warm heart underneath.
In the original story, Mei Misaki (whose real last name was originally Fujioka) was adopted into the Misaki family at the age of two. Her biological parents, struggling financially, had handed her over to her aunt, whose own child had passed away and who could no longer have children.
It was a sad yet strangely touching exchange—a life re-gifted through family love.
"I can sense something from you…" Ji Qi Ming continued, her voice low but intense. "Your aura—it's deep and warm, yet also commanding and cold."
She studied Ren's profile, her brows furrowing.
"You're like me. Someone who's awakened… someone with powers beyond the ordinary."
Deep and warm... but also commanding and cold?
Ren realized what she was sensing—the aura of the Red Dragon, a byproduct of the supernatural power coursing through his body.
It wasn't shocking that she could detect it. After all, ever since he'd inherited the fragments of the Old Sword Spirit, his own spiritual awareness had heightened dramatically.
But something didn't add up.
Her eyes... aren't they only supposed to see the aura of death?
In the original, Mei's Yin-Yang Eye allowed her to see spirits and the signs of impending death. Yet this girl seemed to perceive something far deeper than that.
Before he could press the issue further, Ji Qi Ming slipped him a folded note under the desk.
"Let's talk like this instead. It's less distracting. Can you see those things?"
He scribbled back.
"Yes. I can't see them clearly like you can, but I have a magical meter that lets me sense extraordinary energy."
"Magic? What's that? Can it kill monsters?"
"Based on what I've seen the past few days… yes. It can."
Her eyes widened slightly, the iciness of her expression melting into faint surprise.
In the reflection of her wine-red eyes, she could see the boy's confident smile.
Is he... the legendary hidden boss?
"I need your help with something," she wrote. "Please wait for me after school."
"Sure."
Ren didn't even hesitate.
He needed to hunt supernatural beings anyway—he could convert them into Saint Crystals for drawing powerful cards.
Until now, he hadn't known where to find any monsters.
This girl was like a pillow falling into your arms right when you're exhausted—a perfect opportunity.
Up at the front of the classroom, the teacher furrowed her brows.
From her position, she could clearly see the two students passing notes like no one else existed.
Seriously?
She wasn't their full-time teacher, but still—
"You two think I'm invisible, don't you?"
She cleared her throat sharply. "Kurosawa Ren. Ji Qi Ming. Please stand and answer this question."
"Uh—what?" Both of them froze mid-note.
Let's not even mention how long the famously popular Kurosawa Ren had to suffer under Ms. Yukino Momikari's wrath before the bell finally rang.
Click-clack.
Her sharp, gray-black high heels echoed through the hall as she strode out of the classroom without a backward glance.
Several morning classes passed, and the hour-and-a-half lunch break finally arrived.
"Kurosawa-kun has been chatting with the transfer student way too much."
Trailing a short distance behind him, Kato Megumi and Kitagawa Marin exchanged glances, both wearing strangely unreadable expressions.
Ren, however, was too preoccupied to notice.
His girlfriend had promised him a "reward" on the rooftop, and his mind was focused solely on that.
10. Rooftop – Kasumigaoka Utaha's Reward
"Let's go!"
Taking three steps at a time, Ren dashed up the stairwell toward the rooftop where Kasumigaoka Utaha was waiting.
Urgent! I'm in a hurry!
"Ren-kun!"
The moment she saw him, Utaha's normally calm and aloof face bloomed into a brilliant smile.
Today, unlike her typical weekend outfits, she wore her school uniform—a deep teal and navy blue JK style.
Her figure was striking.
The front of her light blue blouse strained ever so slightly, her chest far more developed than that of the average high school girl.
Her long, shapely legs, clad in glossy black pantyhose, stretched with elegance and strength.
"Utaha…"
Ren didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and kissed her deeply.
"Hmm… mmm…"
Utaha's breath grew short.
Under the soft, summer sunlight, her beautiful face turned rosy, her eyes swirling with emotion.
Wine-red irises shimmered as her heart swelled with affection.
"Ahh—!"
Suddenly, Ren pulled back, yelping in pain.
"You bit me?!"
"Idiot!" Utaha pouted, sticking out her tongue with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You were going to suffocate me. I couldn't even breathe."
Though she smiled, her cheeks were flushed pink.
Ren's lung capacity—enhanced by his Red Dragon physique—was beyond human. He could've kissed her for ten minutes without stopping.
She, however, was still human.
She was genuinely worried he might kiss her unconscious one day.
"Take a break. We've got an hour and a half, remember?"
Leaning against him like a satisfied cat, Utaha exhaled and rested her head on his shoulder.
Then, with a teasing smirk, she reached up and gently hooked a finger under his chin.
"So… do you want your 'reward' now?"
"I've rested enough. Give it to me now!"
No man could stay calm with Utaha's curvaceous figure pressing against him.
Ren certainly couldn't.
"You're unbelievable."
Utaha gave a mock sigh, pulled out a purple hair tie, and began tying her long black hair into a ponytail with smooth, practiced movements.
Then she knelt down slightly, looked up at him with gleaming eyes, and added sheepishly, "I only learned how to do this yesterday… I had to watch tutorials online."
"Thank you."
Ren gently patted her head.
She was always thinking of ways to please him.
"What? Sold out?"
Yukinoshita Yukino stood at the cafeteria window, lips drawn in a thin line, staring at the lunch lady in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, dear. Pork cutlet bowls are really popular. You have to pre-order them the day before."
The cafeteria worker gave her a sympathetic look.
"I thought every class had a LINE group for lunch orders? Didn't you get the message?"
"…I'm not in the group."
Yukino sighed internally, massaging her temple.
It wasn't surprising, really. Her icy demeanor and overwhelming presence tended to keep people at arm's length.
No one had even bothered to invite her into the group chat.
Now what?
Even the other set meals were sold out.
"I guess I'll go hungry again…"
She touched her stomach, which was just as flat as her chest, her expression darkening.
As she wandered down the corridor in a silent storm cloud of misery, students instinctively stepped aside.
"Yukinoshita-san looks scary today…"
"Shhh, don't let her hear you. They say she once made Shinomiya Kaguya back down during an argument. And Fujiwara-san? Almost cried."
"She argued with Chika? She's terrifying!"
"Well, she is a rich girl from Chiba. The Yukinoshita family's got serious influence in Tokyo."
"Run, she's looking this way—!"
Hmph. Pathetic.
Yukino pulled her gaze away, her eyes like icy blades.
She'd grown up with this kind of attention—murmurs, judgment, even fear.
But what did their gossip matter?
She didn't live her life according to anyone else's expectations.
"I'll go to the rooftop. It's the only place in this school where I can breathe."