After leaving home,
Ren strolled leisurely down the street with his hands in his pockets, heading toward the supermarket just a few blocks from his apartment.
This was his usual dinner spot.
"Lettuce…"
"Carrots…"
"Red cabbage…"
"Parsley…"
"All my favorites. Nothing beats a veggie salad."
Ren smiled faintly as he looked over the vegetables in his hands.
Maybe it was the influence of his body's previous owner, but he had developed a bit of an obsession with vegetables lately.
"Oh~ just veggies for dinner? No steak? No ribs?"
A cheerful voice chimed in out of nowhere.
Ren turned his head slowly toward the source.
There, in what had been an empty aisle just moments ago, stood a silver-haired girl holding a DV camcorder. The lens was pointed directly at him, as if recording a documentary.
Yep…
Pretty shady.
Strangely, no one around seemed to notice her sudden appearance, like she'd always been there.
"Meat's gross. Too gamey."
Ren replied flatly.
"Wow, I'm impressed. You didn't even flinch."
Nao Tomori raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Flinch?"
Ren tilted his head, then snapped his fingers in realization.
"Oh, you mean your ability, right? The one that lets you vanish from people's awareness?"
"Bingo! Got it right!"
"...Well, not entirely."
Nao grinned.
"My power isn't invisibility, it lets me disappear from a specific person's perception. You didn't notice me because I chose you. But to everyone else here, I probably look like a textbook stalker."
"You sound… oddly proud of that."
"Should I be ashamed?"
"Up to you, really. A half-baked ability like that is barely a power."
Ren smirked.
He casually tossed his vegetables into a cart and started walking away.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a carrot whizzed through the air toward the back of his head, hurled with lightning speed from Nao's hand.
"Oh?"
Ren sensed the wind shift behind him. His eyes narrowed.
In the next instant,
Two fingers rose gently.
"Kai."
Shhk!
With a crisp sound, the carrot hovering midair disintegrated into particles, sliced cleanly by an invisible blade.
Time itself seemed to skip.
"Woooow~ That was awesome!"
"That's your Cleave technique, huh?!"
Nao was already filming like mad with her DV cam. That moment had been perfect.
"You provoking me, little sister?"
Ren turned around slowly, voice calm but sharp.
Nao waved her hand.
"No no, not at all. I'm not into childish games. I just wanted to see what your ability could really do. Pure curiosity."
"And now?"
"Yup! It's amazing!"
Nao looked positively thrilled.
If she could recruit him to the student council, they'd be unstoppable.
Ren's lips curled.
"Great. Then it's my turn."
"Eh?"
Nao froze.
Ren raised two fingers again, calm as ever.
"You hit me. So I hit you. Fair trade, right?"
He wasn't the type to go easy just because the other party was a cute silver-haired girl.
"Whoa whoa, are you dumb?"
"If we fight here using our powers, we're both going to end up having tea with the police!"
Nao warned him sternly.
Ren's power wasn't support-based. It was lethal.
Ren paused to consider, then nodded.
"Hmm… true. Killing too many people might get annoying."
His Cleave technique wasn't fully mastered yet. His Domain was still unstable, randomly activating without control. Until he had complete command, it was better to play it safe and live like a normal person.
A little roleplay never hurt.
"Killing?!"
Nao's eyes widened.
"Just what have you been doing with that power of yours?!"
She was genuinely alarmed. This guy was nothing like any other ability user she'd met.
He grinned darkly.
"Wanna guess?"
And in the blink of an eye,
Ren vanished.
"H-He disappeared?!"
Nao gasped.
Could it be… he had a second ability? One like hers?
"Not bad at all~"
A voice came from behind.
Nao spun around.
Ren stood there, casually holding her DV cam, flipping through the footage with amusement.
"Hey! My DV cam…"
"You've got talent as a videographer."
Ren praised her, still watching the screen.
Nao twitched.
"You're seriously stealing from a girl?"
"Just collecting a small emotional damage fee. Don't take it personally."
"Too late. I'm already taking it personally."
"Then that's your problem, not mine."
Ren shrugged, completely unbothered.
"Ugh. Your personality sucks…"
"Say… any chance there's a secret photo album in here?"
He grinned mischievously.
"You into that stuff?"
"Nope."
Nao folded her arms.
"Didn't think so. Those kinds of photos never appeal to anyone. Can't even sell them."
"Actually… creeps would love that stuff. If it's a girl, that's all they need to obsess."
"Gross."
"Exactly. Gross."
Ren clicked his tongue in disgust.
He finished scrolling, then slipped the DV cam into his pocket like it was his birthright.
"You're not giving it back?"
Nao pouted.
"I stole it fair and square. Why should I?"
"You're literally a thug."
"Yup~ Certified thug."
Ren smiled smugly and extended one finger.
"Tonight. 10 p.m. Under the bridge. We duel. If you win, I'll give it back. If you lose… well… with a figure like yours, I doubt you'd be of much use anyway."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"Nothing~"
"What does that mean?!"
"It means… if you lose, you leave your life behind."
Ren grinned wickedly.
And then,
Two fingers rose again.
"Kai."
Fwwsh!
A sudden gust of cutting wind shot past.
A neat, razor-thin line tore open the hem of Nao's uniform skirt. The cut was so clean it didn't seem real.
Too fast. Too sharp. Too terrifying.
And just like that,
Ren returned behind her, pushing his shopping cart out of the store, leaving the silver-haired girl behind in a daze.
"...YOU JERK!"
"That's the third uniform this month! Do your hands have to be so itchy?!"
Nao fumed, fists clenched, face red with fury.
That bastard…
Such a smug attitude. And mocking her figure?!
Unforgivable!
She swore,
Tonight, she'd beat him black and blue, take a glamour shot of his battered face, and hang it on her wall like a trophy.