Smack—!
A crisp, powerful crack echoed through the kendo hall—the thunderous sound of two bamboo swords colliding.
At the center of the arena, two boys in indigo kendo uniforms faced each other. To the members watching nearby, however, the outcome was already obvious.
The senior on the left was fully armored, yet the hand gripping his shinai was trembling uncontrollably. If one listened closely, his labored breathing was impossible to miss.
Still, against the monster standing opposite him, the fact that his sword hadn't been knocked clean out of his hands could already be considered a success.
Overwhelming strength. Blinding speed. Movements like lightning itself.
Those words barely captured the ability of the少年 standing before him.
Nohara Naoto knew his own limits very well—and precisely because of that, he could clearly feel how terrifying his opponent was.
If that strike had landed on a real person… it would have killed them. No doubt about it.
What frightened him even more was the instinctive certainty that the other boy hadn't even gone all out.
"…I lost."
After a few breaths, Nohara straightened up and conceded without hesitation.
Across from him, Shimizu Koji—a refined-looking boy with black hair and black eyes—quietly lowered his sword. He offered a simple bow, and the match, which had never truly been in doubt, came to an end.
"Damn… that monster got stronger again."
"It's only been less than a month, right? Last time Nohara-senpai could still hold out for two or three exchanges."
"That speed… I couldn't even see his movements. Is that really something a human—and a bamboo sword—can do?"
The kendo club members whispered among themselves, yet no one was surprised. From the very first day, Shimizu Koji's overwhelming talent and strength had shaken them to their core.
A month earlier, when Shimizu first joined the club, he didn't even understand the rules of kendo matches. He stepped onto the floor without wearing any protective gear and accepted a challenge from an irritated second-year student.
As for why that senior disliked him?
Simple.
Shimizu was too handsome.
Half forced, half by choice, Shimizu Koji fought alone—and defeated the entire Teitan High School Kendo Club.
Shockingly, instead of being ostracized, he was immediately crowned the "genius newcomer" of Teitan's kendo team.
Perhaps the club members were decent people. Or perhaps they had simply been conquered through sheer strength. After all, there's an old saying: killing one is a crime, killing ten thousand makes you a hero.
In any case, the details hardly mattered.
From that day on, no one dared complain when Shimizu trained without armor, nor did anyone try to pull rank on him again.
Locker Room
"Shimizu, want a drink? I can have Harada grab something from the vending machine."
Despite his loss, Nohara Naoto entered the locker room calmly and spoke to Shimizu, who was changing clothes.
"No need. I brought my own water bottle," Shimizu replied. "Nohara-buchō, did you need something?"
Harada was a second-year member—technically Shimizu's senior. Under normal circumstances, the hierarchy should have gone: Nohara ordering Harada, and Harada ordering Shimizu. Yet when Nohara spoke like this, no one found it strange.
Shimizu himself had no habit of bossing people around or bullying juniors. He politely declined the offer and looked at Nohara with faint curiosity.
Though he had been in the club for a month, Shimizu remained distant. Most of the time, he trained alone in a corner, barely interacting with others.
Nohara had only sparred with him a handful of times. They weren't close. And Shimizu's gaze made one thing clear:
You wouldn't be here without a reason.
It wasn't that Shimizu disliked people.
Rather, after experiencing repeated reincarnations, he had grown numb. Subconsciously, he viewed himself as a traveler passing through worlds, unwilling to form bonds—friendship, love, or otherwise—with the people around him.
After all, if you never possess something, losing it won't hurt.
Once, he had been an ordinary boy from Earth. His first reincarnation ended three days later, crushed by a truck in a war-torn world.
Since then, his cycle of rebirths had continued—and aside from his original world, he had never survived longer than a week in any of them.
The constant deaths had sharpened his rationality, cooling his emotions. It was as though multiple souls overlapped within him, yet at his core, he was still just a teenager.
This life—three years and counting—was his longest stay yet. Even so, Shimizu Koji remained detached, distant from the world around him.
"Shimizu," Nohara finally asked, "are you planning to participate in the Kanto Tournament next month?"
By now, Nohara understood Shimizu's personality well enough not to mind his attitude.
At first, he'd thought Shimizu was just an arrogant brat. But after getting to know him, he realized—this was simply who he was.
What left the deepest impression on Nohara was the day a stunningly beautiful school heiress confessed to Shimizu.
Shimizu didn't even respond.
He ignored her completely and walked away without a backward glance.
Nohara had been so shocked he nearly beat his chest in despair, wishing he could trade places with him.
"No interest."
After a brief pause, Shimizu rejected him once again.
Nohara sighed—not surprised. Somewhat relieved, yet deeply regretful.
Without Shimizu, Teitan's kendo club would likely be eliminated in the first round.
He wanted to say more, but when he looked up, Shimizu had already packed his things and was ready to leave.
Nohara opened his mouth… then closed it again.
There's still more than a month. No need to rush.
"Shimizu-kun, you're back."
At the entrance of his apartment building, a cheerful voice called out to him.
Turning around, Shimizu saw a woman in a neat uniform skirt smiling brightly at him.
The warm glow of sunset bathed half her face in gold, making her look—at a glance—like an angel standing amid flames.
Hirota Masami tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Shimizu noticed the handbag under her arm, along with bags of vegetables and hotpot ingredients in her other hand.
Clearly, a chance encounter—she had just gotten off work.
"Good afternoon, Hirota-san," he said.
"Good afternoon," she replied with a smile.