The fight was finished.

The TTS system shut down as I won. Yuuto tossed his cards onto the table and slumped in the sofa.

Judging by his lacklustre facial expression, he was lost in his own world.

The World I dragged him into with Orfist.

His eyes, drooped in shadows and void of emotion, told me everything.

Somewhere, in his head, Yuuto was still locked up by the chains of ZANBAKU, floating along the Abyssal Dark Night.

He said he wasn't going to hold back, but it was clear to me he lied.

Without a doubt, he was definitely holding back in our fight.

Whether he didn't show his true abilities because Shizuka was here is irrelevant.

If he was serious, then he would've done so regardless of her presence.

But because he didn't, it's now obvious to me that he's scared to use the power he gained as the Masterpiece.

Fear, was the thing holding Yuuto back.

I know what my role as mentor to him is now. It was up to me to teach him how to deal with that fear.

Ultimately, it's up to him whether or not he wants to break that fear in order to use that power.

But I can encourage him, guide him, and nurture him on a path that isn't self-destructive.

However, at the same time, this could go very wrongly.

I can teach him everything I know, but it wouldn't matter if he loses all logic in his haste to become stronger.

If I had to hazard a guess, there was a 99% chance Yuuto would end up as a monster.

If he ever ended up using that power, there might be no going back for him.

In that case, would it be better to keep him as he is?

Is it okay to keep his power suppressed?

Right now, he isn't harming anyone.

But for a split second in that fight, I tasted a drop of his true self.

I'll admit, it made my heart race more than when I fought Gyze.

In some ways, I'm glad I pulled Eldobreath at that exact moment.

I didn't plan for it at all. I was simply lucky.

But because I did, I might have saved Yuuto from going down that path of no return.

Or at the very least, delayed it just a little bit longer.

I extended my hand for a handshake.

Yuuto snapped out of his trance and shook my hand indifferently.

He looks defeated.

"Guess I'm stuck with you a little longer, eh?"

"Yeah. Please continue to mentor me, Mikazuchi-sensei."

"I'll do my best. As for you, continue focusing on the task I've given you, okay?"

"That's what I've been doing the entire time."

"Glad to hear!"

"I will become Kaido-senpai's rival someday. I swear it."

With that serious statement, Yuuto collected his cards and got up, pulling down his sunglasses.

As he made his way to the door, I called out to him one last time.

"Before you leave, Takanori-san."

"Hm?"

"Here's a side task for you to do."

I might regret telling him to do this, but...

"Get a girlfriend."

...if he can get over his fear of getting into a relationship, then he'll learn what breaking a fear feels like.

And if he knows what the feeling and consequences are of doing so, then that will help inform his decision on whether or not he wants to get over his fear of using his true abilities.

Plus, awakening that emotional side of him will make him less reluctant to become a monster, since that relationship would be on the line if he ever decides to go down that route.

Look at me, killing two birds with one stone! Man I'm smart.

Unfortunately, I got a lukewarm response from Yuuto, as he didn't even bother looking in my direction when I suggested that.

He simply left the teacher's lounge without saying another word.

"I'm being serious!"

I sighed, making Shizuka look at me unimpressed.

"What?"

"What kind of task is that? Telling a student to get a girlfriend..."

"Oh, true. He might be gay. Guess I should've said "get into a romantic relationship" instead..."

Shizuka looked at me even more unimpressed.

"I'm going back to work."

"Not impressed by what you saw, huh?"

"I don't know what you see in him, Mikazuchi-san. Takanori-san is nothing special."

"To be fair to him, I won through pure sack. Who knows what would've happened if I didn't get that Over Trigger."

"You would've lost, probably."

I laughed at her bluntness. It was hard to imagine this stern faced woman was the same bright eyed little girl that attended all those whacky culture festivals I held decades ago.

"Heh, true. He was prime to kill me turn 4. Claret's scary."

"Like your friend... Demiza-san's father, I believe?"

"What, Backlion?"

"Yes, him. Like he says, Claret "goes hard and goes fast"."

"Sounds like me in bed."

For doing such a job well done today, I think I'm going to treat myself by banging Payic tonight.

"We're at work, get your head out of the gutter."

"Ah, says the lady with her chest half exposed!"

Even though I said this to deliberately provoke her, Shizuka calmly replied.

"I don't like it either, but what can I do? These are the biggest shirts I can get... my chest need to breathe too."

"It's okay, my wife has the same issue. She had to import some from Europe since the sizes there are larger than here in Japan."

"Is that so? I might have to invest in some foreign clothing, then..."

"If you want, Payic can donate you some of her old clothes."

"Really? If she doesn't mind, that would be a great help. I've been looking to expand my wardrobe for awhile."

"To seduce a new man, I presume?"

I took out my phone and scrolled through my contacts for Payic.

"Ha ha, very funny."

Shizuka sarcastically chided me. She doesn't like it when people make fun out of her single status.

"If you're looking for a boyfriend, I heard Kirigaya's packing massive heat."

"The fact you know that is more concerning."

"Hey, we've hit the onsen together before. I've seen him naked, he's seen me naked. What can I say, the dude has a big—"

"Mikazuchi-san, please... I'm not into that kind of stuff."

An exasperated Shizuka flicked my forehead. I laughed at her serious nature.

"Oh, so you're into tiny peckers, huh?"

"Not like that either!"

At this point, her face went dark red with embarrassment.

"Kidding, kidding. Yo, honey?"

I quickly made a phone call to Payic discussing the donation of clothes to Shizuka.

"Yeah just use premium shipping, I'll pay for it. Same day delivery, yeah? Cool, thanks."

I ended the call.

"You'll get a sweet package this evening delivered straight to your residence."

"Ah, thank you so much! I can't wait to see them!"

Just as I was about to put my phone away, a contact sitting at the bottom of my list caught my eye.

"Say... Chabashira-san. How would you like to meet Takanori-san's father?"

Shizuka was surprised by my proposal.

"You mean... the School Director?"

"I mean, if you want to put it that way. It's less scary if I call him his dad though, yeah?"

"That's... well, I suppose it takes the edge away a little. Even so... he's still our... boss. Just casually calling him up and talking to him... is it really okay?"

Shizuka was surprisingly cautious to call him.

"He's a laidback guy. Been my best friend for years. He won't mind if you talk to him. Actually, if anything, he'd be drooling with happiness."

"Drooling with happiness?"

"There's two big reasons why."

My eyes fell squarely onto her huge breasts.

"Anyways, wanna talk to him? I can call him up right now."

"Ah... for some reason, I feel nervous..."

"Don't be! He's laidback, I promise."

"For someone "laidback", he sure does have a cruel idea on how GEN should be run..."

"True, even I still can't believe this hellhole is his brain child of all things."

"Besides, why would I even need to talk to him? What would I even talk to him about? If I say something wrong, he might fire me on the spot."

She had a surprisingly cute irrational fear of losing her job.

"I'm only offering because you're still unconvinced."

"About what?"

"About Takanori-san."

Shizuka sighed.

"Is that all? Really?"

"I mean, yeah. If I can't convince you that Takanori-san's someone worth keeping an eye on, then his father will."

"Wouldn't it be less convincing because he's biased towards his son?"

"See, the difference is, his father is directly the reason why he's special."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you familiar with the Underworld?"

"That's just an urban legend."

"I wish. It's very much real."

"...eh?"

"Takanori-san is a product of that Underworld."

"Wait... slow down, you're not making any sense."

"Basically, the report you were given about his past is incomplete. While everything written there is true, it doesn't cover the full extent of Takanori-san's history. There are deliberate omissions made by the Director in order to protect his son. Things that not even I knew about until recently."

Shizuka was speechless.

"If you want to know the full truth - Takanori-san's secret, if you will - then you'll have to ask his father directly. Because he's the only one, aside from Takanori-san, who's privy to that sensitive information. Once you know what really happened to Takanori-san, then you'll understand the reason why he's so highly regarded by me and plenty of others."

"For some reason... I don't like the direction of where this is heading."

Shizuka noticed my serious face and frowned.

"...it's complicated. For now, let me call him. Having an amicable chat with the Director won't hurt."

"I guess..."

"If you need help broaching the topic, I'll be here."

I gave Shizuka a reassuring pat on the shoulder and phoned Yza.

"Ryuzaki?"

After five rings, that jackass finally picked up.

"Yo, Yza! What's up my dude?"

"Just jacking off to my newest hentai, nothing much."

"You released another? Bro, send me a copy."

"I already did, check your personal computer."

"My man! Though, I'm at school right now."

"Jerk off in the toilets then or something."

"I'll save it for tomorrow, I'm planning to pork Payic tonight."

"Aye, nice! What's the special occasion?"

"I beat your son with an Over Trigger, bitch."

"That's— you know what, when Yuu beats Kaido, I'm nutting inside Rukia."

"...fair."

"Guessing he didn't take the loss well then, if you're calling me?"

"Actually, he took it like a champ. I'm calling you because his milf homeroom teacher wants to speak to you."

Shizuka gave me a glare when I called her a milf.

"Bro, what?! Get her on the line right now!"

"Aight ya horny bastard, remember you have a wife."

"I have three of them, what's one more gonna hurt?"

"Kirigaya's gonna castrate you for saying that."

"I'll just fire him, ez."

I handed my phone over to Shizuka. Shizuka put it on speaker and gently spoke.

"Hello... Blade-sama?"

"Can I suck on your boobies?"

Upon hearing that, Shizuka muted the microphone and turned to me.

"...I could technically report him for workplace sexual harassment for that, right?"

"You could, but do you want to?"

"I don't want to make someone lose their job, but saying this to me on our first time meeting is outrageous..."

"Like I told you, he's laidback."

"You didn't tell me he was a massive pervert!"

"Just imagine you're talking to Mitsuba-san, they're like the same person."

"I have a sudden urge to put correcting Mitsuba-san's behaviour on the top of my priority list now."

"Degenerates will be degenerates."

Shizuka unmuted the microphone and politely declined Yza.

"No."

"Aww, come on! You're hot and single, lemme grab one of those delicious jugs and drink your milk!"

Yza whined like a baby.

"You..."

Shizuka looked like she was ready to smash my phone on the ground any second now.

"Just lie and say you have a boyfriend."

I whispered some advice to her, but instead she stubbornly ignored it.

"I'm sorry Blade-sama, but no means no. I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"Ah... that's a shame. I would've taken you to some of the best love hotels in Tokyo and we would've fornicated until sunrise!"

It looked like Shizuka resisted the urge to straight up ask Yza if sex was the only thing ever on his mind.

"Anyways, what's up? If you're calling to inform me that you're quitting your job to become a JAV actress, then by all means do so! You'd be doing this world a favour and I fully support you in this decision!"

Same here.

"I wanted to talk about your son."

Shizuka coldly ignored Yza's lecherous comments and cut straight to business.

"Oh dear... did he do something bad? I know he has a teacher fetish, did he try to grope you?!"

"What? No, he's done nothing like that. I'm calling you because..."

Shizuka swallowed the lump in the back of her throat.

"I want to know the truth about Takanori-san's past."

"Oh. Sure thing."

Shizuka looked surprised when Yza casually agreed to tell her everything.

"Wait... really?"

"Yep! Unless, you've changed your mind?"

"No... I just didn't expect it to be that easy."

"I know you're only asking because Ryuzaki convinced you to. I already told him about Yuu's past, so even if I refused, you could pester him for answers instead."

"True enough. What happened to Takanori-san to make him this way, then...?"

"Yuu is a survivor of the Under Doctrine."

Yza explained to Shizuka everything.

By the end of it, she was in tears.