Ch 44: Miyabi.

Immediately, most of the students left their seats and gathered in small groups to discuss what had happened. Noah himself was largely ignored, excepted for the blonde girl, who came to him and sat on the vacant seat in front of him.

Noah took a close look at her. He already found out that she was one of the three main heroines from the fiction this school belonged to. Miyabi was the heiress of a moderately ranked devil noble family, but felt suffocated by the formal atmosphere that often was the norm within those families. As a result, she secretly dressed when she came to school in a flashy way, with many bangles around her wrists, a white shirt with the top buttons undone, and a pink sweater tied at her waist. She styled some of her long blonde hairs into twin tails.

After dressing in this rebellious manner, she felt free to be herself, and her way of speaking at times became quite… unique.

She grinned at Noah.

“Hi, I’m Miyabi Yuugaoze, nice to meetcha! That was a great show! Her face when you sat behind this huge desk! She was all ‘pshiiit’! I thought she was toootally going to fight ‘pow pow’ with you!”

And Noah grinned back.

“I’m Noah Enfield, as you have heard. It’s nice to meet you, Miyabi. It's nice that there’s at least one person in the classroom who’s willing to speak to me.”

“Bah, the others all have a stick up their butts. It’s their loss.”

Miyabi sobered a little.

“Still, why are you in class A?”

“The Headmaster’s doing, apparently. He wanted to give that woman an opportunity to hang herself properly. And I made for a pretty decent rope, if I do say so myself.”

“That you did!” grinned Miyabi. “And you’re also a member of the anti-demon corps?”

“Yes. I chased after a hollow, found myself ambushed by more of them than I could manage, and the corps came and saved my butt. When we fought together, they saw I wasn’t too bad with a sword and martial arts, and they invited me to join them. Since my goal is to grow stronger, I accepted, to have plenty of opportunities to fight.”

“There’s another member of the corps in the university. You’re with her?”

“Yes, she’s my boss. She’s a good person from what I can tell. What about you, Miyabi? I noticed you don’t seem to have many friends in the class.”

Miyabi shrugged. “Most people don’t like my ‘pow’ gal style. I have two friends, but they’re in the grades above and below us, respectively.”

“I see. Well, I’m growing fond of you, Miyabi, and I like your cheerful style. Would you mind if I become your third friend?”

Miyabi put a finger in her mouth as she considered him, and for an instant, Noah worried he may have been too impatient.

“I’ll tentatively accept it, Noah. But if you’re trying to conquer this gal’s heart, you should give up now. I already have a fiancé, sort of.”

“Just friends.” nodded Noah. “We’re barely learning about each other at this point. Any deeper relationship would require more time.”

Miyabi nodded in agreement.

“You said you were ‘bam bam’ strong with martial arts. How strong exactly?”

“I’m honestly not sure how I compare with others. Strong and fast enough to bring down your average hollow barehanded, but against a devil? I have yet to fight one.” Said Noah as he shrugged.

“How about we spar together some time, then?” suggested Miyabi.

“I’d be glad to. My schedule is packed for today, but maybe we can put some time aside tomorrow or the day after?”

“Tomorrow morning. Come 90 minutes early to this classroom, and I’ll show you a place where we can exchange fists with a ‘bang’! Unarmed combat is this gal’s specialty!” boasted Miyabi.

“Then I’ll be glad to. I look forward to learning from you, Miyabi.”

For a while longer, they chatted about various subjects. But they quickly exhausted the number of matters that could be discussed in the middle of the classroom with a bunch of people listening, and Miyabi eventually returned to her seat.

Noah was quite happy, as this meeting with Miyabi might be an opportunity to fix one of his most pressing issues.

He was passively stronger and faster than normal humans. But devils, or at least most of those who would participate in the devil king competition, had access to some method of circulating their demonic energy within their bodies that strengthened their bodies, too. Sparring with Miyabi, who specialized in this magic, would allow him to see where he stood in that regard. And if he could convince her to teach him that technique…

Miyabi, too, was also quite satisfied. The new guy was funny, handsome, and her instinct was telling her that he had a lot of potential. Maybe it was the confidence he displayed when he dealt with the teacher. She wanted to test him, which was the reason she had suggested a sparring match. If Noah didn’t disappoint her, she might pitch in the idea to Lizel and Reina, about making him a Card like them. The only issue she had was that she could tell Noah was attracted to her, and as a future Card of the Lovers, she could not even entertain the idea of a romantic relationship. Even if he was so handsome and seemed like a good guy. She would have to be strict and shut down any attempt from his part to sway her before it started.

…

Asuna was sitting in a large lecture classroom with a stadium seating, just one student among almost three hundreds. She wore the normal uniform for trainees, a white kosode, or kimono top, with red accents, and a red hakama, or trousers. Males wore the same uniform, with the red color being switched with blue. Asuna was listening with rapt attention as the lecturer was speaking about hollow classification.

“…All of you know about normal hollows. Their combat power can vary greatly, mostly depending on their size and body shape. Be careful about those who have color on their masks, as it is an indication that they have lived for some time, and are stronger, smarter, or both. One case study would be the Hollow we nicknamed Grand Fisher.”

Asuna saw the lecturer use some kind of device, and a picture was displayed. It was the first time Asuna saw a hollow. The creature was standing on four monkey-like red hands, and covered in thick dark gray fur. It had a large hole in its chest. Its mask was huge, with a few black dots and pink-colored lips. A long, thin tentacle protruded from the top of its head, connected to something that vaguely reminded Asuna of a peeled banana.

“This particular hollow hunts in a manner similar to an anglerfish. It masks its presence while reading the surface memories of his prey and change the appearance of the lure dangling from its tentacle to that of a relative of his target, or a little girl. When the unsuspecting victim comes closer, the Grand Fisher will pounce, biting with its huge jaws, or manipulating its fur to form spikes or hairy tentacles and impale or immobilize the target. Its fur is thick and somewhat hard to cut, and also provide him with fairly effective protection.

The lecturer looked at the students with a grave expression.

“That hollow is able to feel the reiatsu of Shinigamis or other forces close by, and is smart enough to retreat whenever he isn’t confident in his victory. It has already killed several Shinigamis. To this day, that hollow is still alive, and still preying on people and Plus alike in the human world.”

“Everyone, be very careful if you ever meet hollows with colored masks. They can be said to be more vicious and dangerous than a ten meters tall hollow. But even those are just minor nuisances, compared to the Menos Grande.”

“What are Menos Grande? They are hollows that are born from the accumulation of miasma in the hollow world, Hueco Mundo, and evolved by eating humans adventuring in that world or other hollows. While they do have the capacity to pierce the barrier separating the worlds and enter the human world, they very rarely do. Those Menos Grande are divided into three categories. The first are the Gilians.”

Another picture was displayed, showing several hollows with identical appearances. They all had white masks with pointed noses, covered from head to feet with what looked like a black cloak. They possessed large white hands with finger ending in sharp nails, and white spikes surrounding their neck.

Asuna frowned as she noticed the human figure that was displayed, revealing the scale of the Gilians. They were easily twenty meters tall or more!

“All Menos Grande…” continued the lecturer “… possess one special attack, called ‘Cero’. If you see an accumulation of black and red energy in front of a Gilian’s mouth, it means they are charging up their Cero. You must not let yourself by hit by that attack! It is strong enough to devastate buildings, and most Shinigamis will be crippled or outright killed! If you ever see any Menos Grande, immediately send a report and do not try to engage them. Soul Society will dispatch a Lieutenant or Captain to deal with them.”

“But while Gilians are dangerous enough, there are still worse. The second category of Menos Grande are the Adjuchas. They are smaller, and they form can vary greatly. On their appearance alone, they can actually be difficult to distinguish from a normal hollow. But you will feel the difference, as the spiritual pressure they emit is on a completely different scale. The average Adjuchas can be a match for most Lieutenants.“

“Lastly, are the Vasto Lorde. The highest form a hollow can evolve into. They are so rare that we do not have any picture of them, and we estimate that there are five to eight of them, at most. But they are stronger than most Captains. They are the smallest hollows, and the most human-like. But each of them could easily lay waste to cities in the human world. Thankfully, none has ever been seen outside of Hueco Mundo. Should you ever see one, just run, and pray that the Vasto Lorde do not take interest in you.”

“This is another general rule with hollows that you all need to remember. The more human they look, the stronger they tend to be.”

Asuna gulped, wondering if her Master’s mission meant that he would eventually have to face those. She almost touched her sword out of habit, but she didn’t have a sword right now. She was the only student in the room who wasn’t armed.

That would change, as she had been told to later go and request an Asauchi, the larval form of the Zanpakutos every Shinigami possessed. Asauchis looked like normal steel katanas, but as she kept it near her, her soul would gradually imprint on the Asauchi, who would develop awareness and its own personality, becoming a full-fledged Zanpakuto. Asuna was about to receive one, and she would keep it by her side. She would train with it, eat with it, sleep with the weapon next to her futon.

From what Asuna had learned, Zanpakutos had two special forms, Shikai and Bankai, each of them being unique. Reaching the Bankai stage typically took decades even for talented people and was one of the prerequisites to become a Captain.

“And this concludes today’s lesson.” Announced the lecturer.

Auna and the other students rose and started leaving the room. Their next lesson was about using Shinigami Magic.

…

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school’s day, and Noah waved to Miyabi before heading to the basement. Kyouka was waiting for him.

“Hey, Kyouka. How has your day been?”

“It’s been okay. But I heard some woman’s scream coming from your class just minutes after I left you. Did something happen?”

“Got my teacher fired. She had an issue with having a ‘filthy human’ in her class.” Noah made air quotes to illustrate as he grinned. “I borrowed the help of the Headmaster, who expected precisely this outcome, and he got his justification to kick her out. The rest of the class didn’t give me trouble, and I made a friend.”

“Ah, so that’s why you were assigned to this class. What do you think of him?”

“He’s crazy strong. Not someone I want as an enemy. Fortunately, we share a few common interests, and we seem to be getting along.”

“He is one of the strongest devils. In the anti-demon corps, only our commander is stronger. I called her at lunch break, about Hagun Island. She and three other chiefs will be ready to act, if you can give us its location. The Sixth squad Chief, Tenka Izumo, can manipulate space, and she will teleport us in.” Said Kyouka as she locked the door behind them.

“Thanks. I appreciate that. Space manipulation sounds like a very useful power to have.”

“It is.”

Kyouka and Noah crossed the portal to the seventh’s squad basement.

When the entered the living room, they found the other squad’s members waiting for them. After greeting each other, Kyouka took a camera from a cupboard.

“Today’s training will be focused on researching the applications on Noah’s sacred gear. I will have him use Eternal Chains on everyone in turn, and we will document it for the Commander and the other Chiefs.”

Noah heard Himari sigh, but she didn’t protest.

“The compensation part, however, will be done in private. Whatever form it takes, none of the others need to know.” added Kyouka in a softer tone, looking at her second in command.

Himari met her gaze and nodded gratefully at the small favor.

“Huh, Commander, isn’t Nei a bit too young for this? And when I mean a bit, I mean a lot?“ asked Noah uneasily. Nei looked at him curiously.

“We’ll stay with her, and if the compensation she has to pay become too much, we will stop it somehow.”

“I understand.”

“I don’t?” Nei was confused, as she didn’t have any knowledge about sexual matters.

“Hum… actually, that might work to our advantage. If Nei doesn’t know much about adult matters, her compensation will likely be on the innocent side of things.” mused Noah as he looked at her.

“We’ll test this in a few minutes.” decided Kyouka. “I will be the first to test Noah’s power. Everyone, follow me outside.”

The seventh squad members walked out of the dormitory and the barrier protecting it.

Kyouka designated a few rocky protrusions that looked like crude and irregularly shaped stone pillars, about as thick as large tree trunks.

“To evaluate the power boost increase, I will run as fast as possible to each of those rocks, slash them once, and run back. First without Noah’s power, and then with it. Shushu, you will record me with the camera. Himari, you will time me. Noah, I want you to give me your estimation of how much power I will have drained from you. Do you all understand?”

They all nodded. Shushu the camera from Kyouka’s hands and turned it on. Himari had her smartphone in hand and was ready to use it.

“Ready?” asked Kyouka.

They nodded.

“Go!” Kyouka sprinted toward the first stony pillar, about 50 meters away, and slashed at it, leaving an inch-deep gash in the though stone. Without pausing, she ran to the next, and the next, and the next, leaving similar marks on each, before sprinting back to her starting position.

“52 seconds.” Reported Himari.

Kyouka nodded and waited for a minute to regulate her breathing. Then she looked at Noah.

Noah put his hand on her shoulder and activated Eternal Chains. Like before, Kyouka’s body shone intensely, and when the light dimmed, she was clad in the black armor plate, it’s edges slightly jagged around the spaulders and arm protectors. She still had the black leather collar around her neck, and her weapon had turned into an Odachi, its blade gaining a good 60 centimeters in length.

“Ready to record?” She asked Shushu.

“Yes!”

“Go!”

Kyouka sprinted much faster than before, and when she swung her blade at the stone pillars, she didn’t just leave mark in the stone. The blade sliced through cleanly. As the cut top was sliding along the smooth surface of the cut, Kyouka was already running to the next. Three more stone pillars had their top parts cut off, and Kyouka sprinted back.

“21 seconds!” called out Himari in disbelief.

“Noah, how much power has been consumed?” asked Kyouka.

“…Hard to estimate. I do not feel any fatigue or side effects. I’d say less than ten percent.”

“The stone felt fairly easy to cut.” Commented Kyouka as she looked at the camera. “Comparable to a rolled bamboo mat with a good katana back home. Shushu, you can stop the recording for now. Noah, you follow me.”

Noah silently walked inside the dormitory with her, and into one of the sleeping rooms.

“You can undo the transformation now.” She sighed.

Noah did as she asked and seconds later, she was clinging to him, her arms around her neck and her legs around his waist, as she aggressively explored his mouth with her tongue.

Noah put a hand on her butt to help support her weight as he hugged her tightly and returned the kiss.

“Why do you have… to be a pervert…” she gasped between two eager kisses. “With hollows… all I had to do…  was give them some meat…”

“But the hollows aren’t much… compared to the power I grant you… You’re right… I am indeed a pervert… And you’ve barely… scratched the surface.”

They kept kissing for a few more minutes, then Kyouka recovered control of her body and stopped hugging him. Noah immediately let her go, and they faced each other for a few seconds.

“Are you feeling regrets?” gently asked Noah.

Kyouka shook her head.

“…No. I need your strength. At least until I become the commander, and until I kill the Horned One. I will pay whatever price is required for this. Even if it means doing things more intense than this.”

“The Horned One? A hollow?”

Kyouka nodded. “…A very strong one. He came to my village, and slaughtered everyone. I am the only survivor. It would have killed me, too, if it hadn’t felt the presence of anti-demon corps members coming, and it returned to Hueco Mundo... Let’s return to the others, they might become worried.”

Noah nodded and followed her outside.

“Nei, you’re next.”

“Roger!” eagerly answered Nei.

Shushu resumed the recording.

Noah put a hand on Nei’s shoulder and activated the skill. The light concentrated around Nei’s head and neck, and when is dimmed, Nei was wearing what looked like a high-tech set of virtual googles, ear-covering headphones, and a small, pink leather choker.

“How do you feel, Nei?”

Nei slowly turned her head around. “It’s… I can see much farther away… I can even see into the ground. And I can also hear the hollows!” she said excitedly. Before, her far sight ability didn’t include sounds. But with Noah’s help, it did.

“How much range to you think you have, Nei?”

“Hum, over two times more than before.”

“Ok, we’ll stop Nei’s test. Noah, you can retrieve your power.” Decided Kyouka.

Noah did as instructed. The goggles, headphones and choker disappeared, and Nei walked closer to Noah.

“Noah onii-san, please pat my head.” She asked eagerly.

“Sure.” Noah smiled fondly as he did as she asked.

“It feels nice” giggled Nei as he gently rubbed her scalp. She closed her eyes to better appreciate the feeling.

Noah looked at Kyouka, Shushu and Himari.

“Looks like we were worried for nothing.”

“Yeah. It’s fine. I wouldn’t mind a pat on my head, either.” grinned Shushu. Noah nodded to her, making a silent promise.

After a minute, Nei opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Is this enough, Nei?”

“Yes, but you can do more if you wish, Noah onii-san.”

Noah smiled. “Maybe later. We’re in the middle of training now.”

“Himari, it’s your turn.” Said Kyouka.

Himari sighed and came closer to Noah. Suddenly, her right forearm transformed, and a large black machine-gun like weapon replaced it.

“That explains your uniform’s short sleeves. Is that your power?” wondered Noah as he looked at the weapon Himari kept pointed to the ground.

“Not quite.” Said Himari as she tapped the smartphone tied to her waist. “My power is linked to my smartphone. I can set the picture of another sacred gear user on it, and that allows me to copy their power. This ability to turn parts of my body into weapons belongs to someone from the fifth squad.”

“That’s certainly a polyvalent ability. But what if your smartphone is lost or damaged?”

“It will just reappear in working condition if I will it. It is a projection of my sacred gear, and no damage to the smartphone can extend to my body or what’s inside.”

“I see. It will get complicated if you start imitating my Gemini Drive to imitate yet another sacred gear user. Anyway, are you ready?”

“Let’s get this over with.” She clenched her teeth, and Noah touched her shoulder as well.

A red leather collar appeared around her neck, but most of the transformation was about her weapon. It became significantly bigger, and light coalesced over her left and right shoulders. In seconds, two futuristic-looking weapons were floating by her sides, pointing in the same direction as the one on her right arm.

She waved her arm around, and the weapons followed her movements with no noticeable lag.

“Should I try firing them?” asked Himari, looking at Kyouka.

“Yes. Choose a distant target at first. We don’t know what kind of weapons they are.” Warned Kyouka.

Himari nodded, targeted a large boulder two hundred meters away, and opened fire. A burst of three bullets came out of the weapon attached to her arm, while two bright blue beams were fired from the floating canons.

They could see the holes in the boulder, their periphery glowing bright yellow from the extreme heat.

“Nei, can you tell us how deep the holes are?”

“Yes… about three meters deep.”

Himari raised an eyebrow, looking with newfound respect at the canons.

“Himari, can you try to control those floating weapons directly, or have them aim at separate targets?”

She tried, and after a few seconds, managed to wave them around.

“It’s… like learning to move limbs I never had before. It will take some practice.”

Without waiting for instructions, Himari started aiming at various boulders, firing the floating canons one by one, or at two different targets. She was starting to smile at the firepower at her disposal when Noah cleared his throat, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

“Himari, you may want to stop. The power usage of those canons is pretty intense. You’ve drained over half of my total capacity already.”

“Oh!” Himari paled as she immediately understood the implication.

“Himari, stop. Go inside for your compensation.” instructed Kyouka.

With the grim look of someone about to be strapped to the electric chair, Himari led Noah inside and into her room.

On there, she glared at Noah, took a deep breath, and nodded. He retrieved his power, and the compensation began.

Almost immediately, Himari’s hands escaped her control and started removing her uniform.

“Urgh!” She groaned in frustration. Soon enough, she stood in front of him in her underwear, a cute white satin set with small red bows.

But if she was embarrassed before, she started to outright panic as her body automatically walked to a cupboard and opened the bottom drawer.

“No! Not this!” She suddenly cried out.

“Stop it, Noah!” she pleaded urgently as her hands took a locked black box of moderate size and brought it to the futon.

“I’m sorry, Himari. But even I can’t stop the compensation when it’s underway. For what it’s worth, I promise you I won’t say a word to anyone else about anything that might be in that box.”

“Uhhhhhh” whined Himari.

Noah assumed that the box might have a vibrator or two, and raised an eyebrow when Himari’s hands, resisting her desperate attempts to regain control of her body, entered the correct number combination and revealed the box’s content.

The box did contain a vibrator or two, but it was also packed full with several bundles of soft red rope, a ball gag harness, black leather cuffs, and more goodies.

“Okay, this is a surprise.” whispered Noah, loud enough for her to hear. as Himari was blushing so fiercely Noah was worried that she might burst a vein.

“You must bind me and make me cum.” She blurted out. Her eyes widened as she heard the words coming out of her mouth.

“It’s not me who said this! That’s not who I am!” She cried out in a panic.

“I know, it’s the effect of the compensation.” Said Noah with a gentle voice. “And while I’m surprised, Himari, this doesn’t lower my opinion of you in the slightest. “You have a kinky side, but so what? We all have our preferences, and I’m not going to judge you for them. I won’t say a word to the others.”

Noah walked closer and took the largest bundle of rope from the box. After unbundling it and estimating the rope’s length, he activated Hands of Nirvana, and had Himari turn around. With gentle moves, he had her put each hand on the opposite elbow.

“Have you heard about something called box-tie shibari?” he asked softly, as he looped the soft rope a few times around her wrists.

“Is that how you’re going to bind me?” nervously asked Himari.

“Yes. This method is relatively comfortable, as it doesn’t put stress on your joints, like I would if I were to bind your elbows close to each other on your back, for example.”

“You seem surprisingly knowledgeable about it.”

“As I said, we all have our preferences.” Answered Noah with a soft voice, as he looped the rope under her breasts.

“And to let you feel better about me knowing about the content of that box, I will tell you mine. You like being tied up. I like tying up beautiful girls. And you certainly qualify. I also like girls who wear form-fitting clothes, like leather or latex.”

“You pervert.” blurted out Himari. Noah only laughed.

“Yes, I’m a pervert. And so are you, Himari. And now, we can both ruin each other with our secrets. So you can rest assured, whatever happens in this room will stay between us.”

Himari took a deep breath and nodded, understanding that he had made a large concession to her, just to make her ordeal more tolerable. Her opinion of him increased.

Noah finished binding Himari. He hugged her from behind and spoke softly in her ear.

“You’re beautiful, Himari. Do you want to look at yourself in the mirror?”

“…No. End it quickly, please. I can’t take much more shame.” Her voice trembled slightly in shame.

“Fine. First, I’ll add a little something to your collection. This will help you, and you can keep it as a memento of today.”

“I don’t want such memento, pervert. I want to forget today happened.” said Himari in a textbook tsundere tone.

Noah snorted and used Item Creation to create a black leather blindfold and showed it to her for a moment, letting her understand what was about to happen.

Noah slipped it over her head, plunging her in darkness, and his hands started playing with her body. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Himari was shaved down there, as his fingers only found silky smooth skin. With all his previous experience and Hands of Nirvana active, plus Himari’s already aroused state and the blindfold forcing her to focus on her sense of touch, it didn’t take him long for him to have her panting with arousal and trying to repress lustful moans. He kept her close to the edge for a few minutes, keeping her squirming body pressed against him.

“You’re so cute, Himari” said Noah in her ear.

“Please… end it now.” She pleaded.

“Very well. Cum for me, Himari.” He said, as he went all out with his fingers. He held her against him as she convulsed and worked to prolong her orgasm a bit, then stopped and gently held her until he was certain she could stand on her feet.

Without waiting for her to ask, he untied her. Then he used Greater Healing on her.

“For the rope marks.” He said simply, and she nodded, refusing to look at him.

“I’ll be waiting in the living room until you’re ready.” Said Noah as he left the room.

“Hugh!” moaned Himari as she hid her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She felt like she wouldn’t be able to be married anymore.

And she also couldn’t believe it had felt this good. Her usual solo activity didn’t compare.

With another sigh, Himari walked to her small individual bathroom, removed her soiled underwear, and quickly cleaned herself. She put on new underwear and dressed back in her uniform.

Himari entered the living room, still not looking in his direction, and left the dormitory, her face red. Noah followed without a word.

They had been away for a while, but no one made any comment.

“Shushu, it’s your turn.” Simply said Kyouka. Nei was holding the camera.

“Yes!”

Shushu eagerly got close to Noah, and he smiled slightly when putting his hand on her shoulder.

Seconds later, Shushu looked in amazement at her outfit. Her body from the neck down was covered by gray leather armor, and her fists and bracers were had spikes. She had a white leather collar against her throat.

“This feels comfortable and easy to move in.” said Shushu as she moved and flexed her limbs.

“How about trying to hit that boulder, Shushu?” Asked Kyouka, pointing to a rock the size of a small house.

Shushu nodded and grew ten meter tall. She started running to build some momentum, and punched, hard.

With a great boom, the rock shattered in a dozen large fragments and countless smaller ones.

“That’s great!” laughed Shushu.

“Noah, how much energy did you lose?” asked Kyouka.

“Not a lot, I’d say it was comparable to when I was boosting you. How strong is Shushu usually?”

“Not strong enough to shatter a boulder. Although she could have lifted a ton or two, at that size.”

“Shushu, what do you think?”

The giant girl laughed as she came back.

“It feels great! I think my power more or less doubled. But the greatest effect is likely defense. My fist should hurt after hitting a rock like this, but it doesn’t hurt, at all.”

“Oh? Return to normal size, Shushu. I will try hitting you with the back of my blade. I want you to tell me when it starts hurting. Noah, be ready to heal her, just in case.” Said Kyouka.

“Fine.” Shushu returned to her normal sized, and Kyouka drew her blade. With the reverse side of it, she started hitting Shushu on the shoulder, pausing every few seconds to give her time to stop if necessary.

“I only feel the impact, but there’s no pain so far.” exclaimed Shushu.

The hits were increasingly stronger, and Noah noticed something.

“Kyouka, whenever you hit her, a little bit of my power is drained.”

Kyouka nodded and sheathed her sword.

“That’s good to know. Your power is suitable for a large variety of situations.”

“Yes. But I’m wondering. Aren’t you able to do the same, Kyouka? Haven’t you tested your power with them as well?”

He didn’t know what kind of answer to expect, but the reaction he got wasn’t it. Kyouka, Nei, Himari and Shushu looked at him, completely stunned.

“Huh?” gasped Shushu.

“You’re… actually right. How could it be possible that it never occurred to me?” Kyouka was utterly shocked.

Noah understood suddenly. The power of the almighty plot armor must have been involved in the original fiction. Likely to make the protagonist irreplaceable or something.

“Shushu, go inside with Noah for your compensation.” finally said Kyouka, wanting to divert the attention from her massive blunder.

“Yes. I’m so curious about it!” Shushu even grabbed Noah’s hand to make him walk faster.

He smiled as he followed along. He, too, was quite curious.

Once in her room, he retrieved his power. Shushu smiled as her body went on autopilot and walked on front of him.

“It’s so strange to see my body move on its own.”

“Do you not find it scary?”

“Not really. I know it’s not going to last long, and I’m not going to get hurt.”

Her hands started undoing Noah’s shirt buttons, and he quickly found himself with his chest bare.

“Whoa. So this is a man’s chest.” Said Shushu as her hands ran on his chest for a moment. She took his hand, let him to the futon, and pushed him down. Then she turned him around for him to lie down face first and sat on his waist.

“Is the compensation still ongoing, or are you just having fun?” Asked Noah with a grin.

“It’s still ongoing. I think you’re getting a back massage.”

“Hum, that’s nice.” Noah slightly shifted his position to be more comfortable, and let Shushu do as she pleased.

“Your body is great, Noah.” Praised Shushu as her hands started massaging him. “Your skin is soft, but the muscles under it are firm.”

“Your hands feel nice, Shushu. I could get used to this.”

“Praise me more, I like it… So, what did you do to Himari? I never saw her so embarrassed.”

“I am absolutely not telling. The nature of the compensations is between me and the person involved only.”

The massage lasted about 20 minutes, then Shushu was back in control again. She kept massaging his back for a few more minutes, then sighed.

“All good things must end. Let’s return to the others.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Shushu.”

Noah grinned at Shushu as he put his shirt back on.

“Next time, maybe I’ll be the one giving you a massage.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

They both returned to the others.

Noah cleared his throat.

“What’s next? More test?”

“We normally do physical training, but after seeing you fight yesterday, I’m not certain you need it.” Said Kyouka dubiously.

“Not really. I have a special constitution, thanks to the goddess who gave me my abilities, and my body will stay fit even if I laze around for years. Any strength or stamina I could gain by doing squats or running have already been gained. Now, I slowly grow stronger by killing hollows and fulfilling missions she occasionally gives me. That, and refining my swordsmanship and martial arts, or learning magic.”

“Will killing hollows help you grow stronger?” asked Kyouka.

“Yes. But for it to be noticeable, I’ll need to kill hollows by the thousands.”

“I see… Starting tomorrow, you and I will regularly patrol outside. I’ll bring teleportation talismans, in case we would need to return quickly.”

“Thanks, Kyouka.” Smiled Noah.

“Once I am confident you are strong enough, I will let you hunt hollows alone, as long as you take barrier and teleportation talismans with you. You’ll also train with Himari and Shushu regularly. I want them to get used to using your power.” Shushu raised a fist in the air as she cheered, while Himari winced and looked away.

“It’s about 11:30 PM already. Noah, you can go home. Tomorrow, I’ll give you your new smartphone and uniforms.”

“Ok. Tomorrow morning, I won’t go to the dormitory. There’s a devil girl who wants to spar with me.”

“Remember that you belong to the Seventh squad, Noah. Don’t let other girls put their hands on you.” Said Kyouka in a stern voice.”

“You do not need to worry, Kyouka. I’m not going to abandon you girls. I do take commitments seriously. See you tomorrow.” Noah waved at them and returned in the dormitory.

Shortly after, he was back in Japan and on his way home when he received a notification.

[User gained Special Equipment from User’s bond with Asuna: Asauchi.]

Noah almost jumped with joy at the confirmation that Asuna was alive and well, and he now knew precisely where she was. He took the weapon from his inventory. It appeared in his hand, already sheathed. Noah drew it and carefully examined the weapon. It had the shape of a katana, with a whitish color on the edged side and a darker coloration on the thicker part of the blade, but without the wave pattern often associated with Katanas. That pattern came from weaponsmiths using mud to cover part of the blade before heating it again, so it made sense that the Asauchi didn’t have any. It was made for killing, not for decorating a stand in a home.

“Nice to meet you, partner.” Whispered Noah as he slowly sheathed the blade and bound it to his waist.

No one was going to give him flak about being armed in public, because the existence of man-eating monsters was common knowledge. He had seen a few people carrying blades inside the academy.

Noah reached his home, prepared his food for the next day’s lunch, which only took seconds as he could cheat using his Cooking skill, took a good shower, and went to bed early.

He could have stayed active more, but he still felt a bit drained mentally. From his perspective, the Conference had been only a day ago, and many things had happened since.