Kei Fushimiya — Perspective
December 23, 2026. Midnight.
I was staring at the ceiling.
Not because I couldn't sleep. Sleep just wasn't necessary right now.
Mei.
She was the variable I hadn't accounted for.
Unstable, yet controlled enough to revert instantly. That made her more dangerous than someone openly irrational. People like that don't act randomly—they act when it matters most.
Which meant she needed to be neutralized.
Preferably before she became a problem.
The upcoming sword duel didn't concern me. Compared to everything else, it was simple. Structured. Predictable.
A closed system.
Unlike people.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
I didn't need to guess who it was.
I got up and opened the door.
Ichika Renji stood there, exactly as expected. Smiling.
"…You're awake," he said.
"You want to duel," I replied.
He grinned wider.
"Of course. Did you think I came to wish you a good night?"
"…That would've been unusual."
"This isn't just any duel," he continued. "It's a double battle."
I paused.
"Double?"
"For now," he said. "We're picking up the others."
Before I could respond, he turned and started walking.
I followed.
---
After a few minutes, we stopped in front of a dorm.
I didn't recognize the room number, but I didn't need to.
"…This is Kaito's room."
Ichika glanced at me.
"You've been here before?"
"The doorknob smells like his body spray."
It was strong enough to identify without effort.
The door opened.
Kaito stepped out, sweat still on his skin. He'd been training.
He grinned.
"Well, if it isn't the fox and the eagle."
Ichika smirked. "And the mammoth himself."
Kaito crossed his arms.
"What do you want?"
"A spar," Ichika said casually. "You're in the sword duel tomorrow. Think of this as preparation."
Kaito stared at him for a moment.
"…You're bored."
Ichika didn't deny it.
Kaito continued, voice lower now.
"Whenever something interesting happens, you two show up. Doesn't matter where. It's like you're drawn to each other."
"…That's an exaggeration," I said.
"Is it?" he replied.
I didn't answer.
Ichika cut in.
"Enough talking. We have one more person."
Kaito sighed and followed us anyway.
---
We stopped at another door.
Kaito immediately reacted.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The door opened.
Satoshi stepped out, yawning.
When he saw Kaito, his expression shifted.
"…The brute."
Kaito's expression hardened, but Ichika stepped in before anything escalated.
"Save it. We're going."
Neither of them argued further.
---
The training room was empty when we entered.
At least, that's what I thought.
Then I saw them.
Two students were already inside, practicing with wooden swords.
One of them—
Kenji.
The other… unfamiliar.
He carried himself differently. Balanced stance. No wasted movement.
Not someone insignificant.
The moment Kenji noticed me, he reacted.
Fast.
He dashed forward, raising his wooden sword to strike.
Before I could move—
It stopped.
Two fingers held the blade in place.
Kaito.
Kenji froze.
"Remember me?" Kaito said quietly.
Kenji's silence was enough of an answer.
"During the survival gauntlet," Kaito continued, "you set a trap for me."
His grip tightened slightly.
"I didn't get to settle that."
The tension in the room shifted.
Ichika clapped his hands once.
"Let's organize this."
He looked around.
"Three teams."
Kaito shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. I'll win either way."
"Then you're with Kei," Ichika said.
"…Fine."
"Satoshi," Ichika continued, "you're with me."
Satoshi frowned.
"…What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing important."
That wasn't true, but Ichika didn't elaborate.
That left Kenji and the other one.
Ryōichi.
I stored the name.
---
Ryōichi stepped forward slightly.
"I'll explain the rules."
His tone was calm. Neutral.
"You can switch with your teammates if you reach them. A hit scores one point. A knockdown scores five. Time limit: twenty-five minutes."
Simple.
Structured.
Efficient.
We stepped onto the mat.
Kaito looked like he wanted to go first, but I moved before he did.
It didn't matter who started.
Ichika stepped forward as well.
So did Ryōichi.
Three of us.
"…Who's keeping score?" I asked.
Ichika pointed toward the door.
"She is."
I turned.
A girl had entered without me noticing.
Short lavender hair. A cane.
Her posture suggested limited mobility, but her gaze didn't match that weakness.
Observant.
"…Hina," Kenji said.
So that was her name.
"I was curious," she said lightly. "I'll handle scoring."
Another unknown.
And Ichika clearly knew her.
"…Student government?" I asked.
Ichika smiled.
"Something like that."
Unhelpful.
I looked back at the mat.
Too many unknown variables.
But none of them mattered right now.
Hina raised a whistle.
Then—
A sharp sound cut through the room.
The match began.
________________________________________
Ryōichi — First-Person Perspective
The moment the match started, I could already tell—this wasn't going to be boring.
Most of them expected Ichika Renji to come straight for Kei. That's what I would've done. Direct, efficient. But instead, he came for me.
Good.
I tightened my grip—well, not really. Three fingers were enough. They always were.
"Alright then," I said, steadying my stance. "Come at me, Ichika Renji."
Across from me, both he and Kei held their wooden swords properly—two hands, full grip, controlled posture. The standard form. The safe form.
Not me.
I saw the reactions ripple through the room. Confusion. Doubt. A bit of disbelief.
They always notice the grip first.
Kenji didn't react. Of course he didn't. He's seen it before.
Ichika moved first.
Fast—but not fast enough.
A sharp displacement of air—woosh—and I stepped in. One motion. Clean. Precise.
His balance broke instantly.
His sword flew from his hand.
For a split second, silence hit the room.
Even Kaito looked stunned.
> "That's impossible… he moved in a blink…"
No. Not impossible.
Just faster than you expected.
I shifted my attention.
Kei didn't move.
That alone made me more interested than anything Ichika had done.
He wasn't shocked. He wasn't rushing in.
He was watching.
Good.
Then he moved.
We charged at the same time.
His approach was strange—zigzagging, irregular. Not inefficient, just… unconventional. Like he was testing something rather than committing.
Then he threw his sword.
Upward.
For a second, I thought it was a mistake.
It wasn't.
I swung.
He ducked—barely.
Then caught the falling sword with his left hand and struck.
Clean hit.
Hina's voice cut through the moment.
> "Point for Kei and Kaito."
I exhaled slowly.
A grin pulled at my lips.
"Finally," I muttered. "A challenge."
That was when things started getting interesting.
Ichika swapped out.
Now it was me, Kei, and Satoshi on the mat.
I looked directly at Kei.
"Tell me something," I said. "Do you know how humans truly connect?"
He didn't hesitate.
"What makes you think I know the answer?"
Fair.
I stepped forward.
"Then I'll tell you."
I launched forward, closing the distance in an instant.
Our swords collided.
"The way humans connect…" I continued, pressing into the clash,
"…is through battle."
Satoshi jumped in like an idiot, shouting something about not being left out.
I didn't even look at him.
A simple sweep—
—and he was on the ground.
Irrelevant.
Kei moved again.
Same trick.
Sword into the air.
So that's your rhythm.
I dodged backward with a flip, letting gravity do the work for him. His blade dropped toward me—
—but I stopped it.
With my pinkie.
His eyes didn't widen.
Interesting.
"So," he said calmly, "you believe people connect through battle?"
He analyzed quickly. Too quickly.
"Then you're just like Kaito and Satoshi."
I shook my head.
"No."
They fight because they want to win.
I fight because I want to understand.
"There's respect in a real fight," I said. "When you meet someone equal… you get to see what's inside them."
I leaned in slightly.
"I want to know if you're actually alive… or just another empty shell."
His gaze didn't change.
"Then what do you see?"
I didn't hesitate.
"Loneliness. Hatred. Buried under a mask."
There it was.
A flicker—not on his face, but in the space between his movements.
"...You don't know anything about me."
"Then I will," I replied.
"By the end of this match."
He pulled back.
Then charged again.
This time—
there was intent behind it.
Not just calculation.
Something heavier.
I smiled.
"That's it."
Now we're getting somewhere.
"Show me who you really are."
We moved at the same time.
No hesitation.
No tricks.
Just speed, instinct—
—and something deeper neither of us had fully put into words.