Chapter 3: The Second Day

It seemed like a normal family breakfast with a father, a mother, and their two children. To someone on the outside, everything might have seemed perfect, if only they had known the truth...

Goto and Hajime hated this situation; they had to pretend to get along and that there was only a slight tension between them, when they both despised each other to the point that they were ready to insult each other at first sight.

Even Aina, Hajime's mother, could only pray that her husband and her son wouldn't say or do anything serious.

"Onii-chan, we told you that we would have breakfast together! It's been so long since we spent time as a family!"

"That wasn't your exact words last night."

Kaori had strategically ensured that all the family members were together this morning. The girl couldn't stand the fact that it had been months since they had all been in the same room.

"You wouldn't have come if I had told you the truth." (Kaori)

As smart as she was, Hajime's stepsister was quite naïve about certain matters (thanks to her father, of course), and unfortunately, this also applied to Goto.

The girl didn't know what the man was capable of; she didn't even know what he had done to her "onii-chan" and her stepmother. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have smiled so brightly at her parent.

"You did well, sweetheart; it's been so long since we've been together as a family. My job has kept me too busy lately." (Goto)

The mere smile of the leader of the [Black Corps] made the blood rush to the head of the silver-haired boy. How could a monster like him smile so sincerely at his daughter and then mistreat his wife and stepson? In fact, the question Hajime had always pondered was: "How did someone so pure and genuine like Kaori come out of that disgusting old man?"

"So, Hajime, how are things going at your new school?"

It was a clear and simple provocation. And it wasn't even the first one.

Goto detested the fact that his beloved daughter liked her stepbrother as much as she liked him, and for this reason, he had provoked the boy several times in front of his little sister.

He needed a reaction to put a strain on the relationship between Hajime and Kaori, while also keeping himself in a good light with his daughter.

"(It's not going to go the way you want it!)"

The silver-haired boy wasn't stupid enough to fall for it. He quickly said goodbye to his mother and little sister before leaving the room. If he had stayed a little longer, he wasn't sure he could silence that part of him that wanted to stick a fork in his stepfather's eye.

"(Run away then... in the end, I will be the winner... a surprise awaits you at school)" (Goto)

*****

Hajime took a different route to reach his school. He needed some tools to defend himself. The boy knew his stepfather all too well; the first day had only been the prologue to the hell that awaited him today.

"Brass knuckles, wooden kendo sword, and pepper spray... I was stupid to believe that someone would sell a minor with no money some weapons... I'll have to make do with these toys."

Just as he had imagined, there was a group waiting for him in front of the school gate. They were boys from his class who had undoubtedly been paid by some subordinate of Goto to "take care" of him.

"(The first hit goes to me!)"

Hajime had brass knuckles and pepper spray in his pocket; with both hands, he grabbed the wooden sword and charged at them. Before even one of the group could speak, half of them were on the ground.

The preventive attack had paid off; not to mention that their opponent was an excellent swordsman. Years of training, sweat, and tears had brought the silver-haired teenager to many levels above anyone he his age, also thanks to his prodigious talent in swordplay.

In fact, Hajime's biggest concern while fighting was not to kill anyone; one well-angled hit and it would be over.

Especially considering that they were all human and not [mages] or [espers].

"Gyyah!?"

In the end, no one was left standing. Hajime composed himself before entering school; there were still people he owed a beating to; he certainly hadn't forgotten who beat him up yesterday.

"(Next group, come on!)"

Eventually, the teenager managed to find another one of the groups that had targeted him on the first day. There were three of them; with a hit from behind, the biggest one of the group fell over, then it was the turn of the other two. After having taken down ten people, Hajime's energy should have started to dwindle, but for some reason it wasn't so; it was the exact opposite.

"(I'm full of power! And almost exhilarated, if it weren't so strange!)"

The [Grimoire] within him continued to provide him with an endless supply of energy, but always in quantities limited to what he could withstand. The teenager was so distracted that he didn't notice who was coming up behind him.

With a swift movement, the teenager deflected a punch aimed at his head with his sword; to his great surprise, his weapon broke in two upon impact.

"(Shit, I was distracted!)"

"You're being too arrogant! It seems I have to put you back in your place!"

The teenager in the rock armor struck the ground hard with a punch, creating a small crater on impact. Hajime narrowly avoided the punch; he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if he hadn't.

"(He... can really kill me!)"

Usually, teachers, despite their disinterest or entertainment, would stop a fight between two students if the situation were to get serious.

After all, a brawl in a third-rate school didn't make the news, but a murder attracted too much attention. Unfortunately, though, the school principal had received a bit of "funding" from Goto and, by order of the principal, none of the teachers would lift a finger to help him.

"Come here, mosquito!"

The silver-haired boy avoided all the blows from his enemy; thanks to his many years of training with his father, he even managed to counterattack a couple of times (given that his enemy was using only brute strength to fight, with little brain), but even with the brass knuckles he couldn't scratch the armor.

"(What do I do?! I can't use a projection; I wouldn't be able to lift him! And submission holds will be useless! I can't do anything but dodge and try to hit him with the brass knuckles?!)"

"I'll break you in half!"

Charging forward, the teenager in the armor struck the ground hard with a punch, creating a small crater at the impact. Hajime narrowly avoided the punch; he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if he hadn't.

"(What do I do?! What do I do?! I must...!?... why does what happened just come to my mind now!?)"

Finally, Hajime remembered what he had done to the [Black Corps]. He didn't know how or why, but he, a normal human being, without magical powers or scientific enhancements, had performed inhuman physical acts.

The boy wondered why he hadn't questioned what he had done before.

The only answer he could give himself was that he saw nothing special in his power, as if it were as normal as breathing to him, as if it were right to use it in that way.

It was unsettling.

The silver-haired teenager didn't notice, but from his body, once again, various green electric shocks emanated.

"[Overwrite: physical enhancement]!"

With a punch to the stomach, the armor of his opponent was seriously damaged; the burly boy jolted slightly from the hit while stepping back several paces.

"What the hell!? Why are you using your powers only now!?"

As the two continued to fight, they didn't notice that some other students at the school were watching them, betting on the winner.

Despite being in a semi-isolated place, where teachers never went, for students, that spot was the infamous battleground for hotheads.

Among them were three who observed with much more interest than the others.

"I don't know a [magic] like his... it's quite strange, Cloe-chan, what do you think?"

The girl who spoke was Aomori Kohaku, one of the three people who had kidnapped Hajime. Naturally, at her side were her two loyal companions, Cloe and Kuro.

"I can't understand how his powers work... it seems like just a boost that improves strength and speed, but I feel it might be more than that."

"Hmmm... we should ask him later. Kuro, go help him!" (Kohaku)

"Forget it! I might as well beat him to a pulp for all I care!" (Kuro)

Kuro wasn't wearing either his mask or his black clothes. The boy had black hair and eyes, piercings all over his left ear, and an expression that was a mix of arrogance, coldness, and confidence.

"He saved your life; you're in debt." (Cloe)

"Not you too, Cloe! I would have won on my own!" (Kuro)

"Kuro... I won't ask you again." (Kohaku)

Kohaku's voice this time was very cold and emotionless; her usual cheerful smile had been replaced by a neutral one. Her eyes seemed to scan Kuro's very soul; the boy didn't flinch or show any signs of fear.

"Tsk, what a nuisance!"

"Kohaku-chan, did you really have to do that...?"

"Don't worry *smiles*, I feel those two might be great friends for one another, like us two... if Kuro doesn't kill him first."

Meanwhile, Hajime was facing a critical situation. After gaining an enhancement, the boy sincerely believed he could win against his opponent, but unfortunately, he had not taken into account one vital element: his stamina.

While his enemy didn't seem to be too affected by the minutes of fighting, he was the opposite: he was out of breath, his arms and legs felt heavy and stiff, and his vision was getting blurry. In the end, the inevitable occurred.

The rock-covered fist of the teenager had literally shattered the shoulder of the boy with silver hair. His body flew like a rag doll for many meters before crashing heavily to the ground, and the electric shocks that covered his body vanished into thin air.

"Tsk, disgusting mosquito! Your weakness disgusts me!"

"A weakling who picks on a weakling—pathetic!"

The boy in rock armor suddenly stopped and looked with slight fear over his shoulder. Just as he feared, behind him stood Kuro, looking down at him. The two stared at each other for a moment before the rock armor of the first disappeared.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted. We'll continue another time, mosquito!"

Noticing the fight was over, the crowd also dispersed, leaving the two boys alone.

" how many problems you're creating for me, damn idiot—come on, get up!" (Kuro)

Kuro didn't want to help Hajime get up at all, but his patience was running out after several minutes of inactivity.

"Don't tell me you fainted from so little...!"

Hajime waited until Kuro was a few meters away before getting up in a burst of speed that honestly surprised even him. His right arm was paralyzed from pain, perhaps broken, but his left one, the one that worked, was still functional.

Ignoring the pain, the stepson of Goto used the pepper spray on the boy with black hair, who, caught off guard, couldn't avoid having the substance end up in his eyes.

"I won't fall easily!"

With the last of his strength, Goto's stepson landed a kick to Kuro's family jewels. The blow to the head stunned him so much that he didn't realize the fight was over.

" y-you son of a bitch....."

In the end, both of them fell to the ground after losing consciousness from pain and fatigue.

"...hmmmm, honestly, I didn't expect this. I should have filmed it." (Kohaku)

"Kuro is really going to be pissed off when he wakes up!" (Cloe)

"Probably you're right... come on, let's go."

The girls had to drag, not too gently, the two boys' bodies to the school infirmary.

And so, Hajime's second day at the new school came to an end.