A double-edged sword

~He's just making wild guesses~

The sinister voice whispered in Tenji's thoughts.

'Shut the hell up.' Tenji snapped and blinked his eyes as he stared at his father, wishing his words weren't true.

"Tenji?" Haru snapped his fingers at his son, hoping to get him out of the temporary trance he caught him in.

Jolting back to reality, Tenji exhaled and shook his head. "No... I don't have such an issue."

Haru narrowed his eyes, "you're lying to me."

~Yes, he is. Let me take over just a little bit!~

Gritting his teeth and quelling the desire to curse at the voice or make an implicating facial expression, Tenji clenched his fists and held his father's stare.

"Do you expect the same for me?" Tenji challenged, hoping to throw him off his trail.

'I will figure out why this is happening.' Tenji made a mental note, confident he could get the answers before he would be overwhelmed.

Haru narrowed his eyes even further, finding it hard to decipher the true nature of Tenji's condition.

Placing his palm on Tenji's shoulder, he let out a sigh before speaking.

"Tenji, you do know underneath all of these, I do care about you and wouldn't want anything that would ruin your cultivation."

Tenji sweat dropped at the sentimental speech, grimacing at the rare showcase of his father's softer side. Slowly nodding his head, he wished he could disappear and materialize in his room.

"Could I..." He pointed down the corridor, hoping his father understood what he wanted to say.

Haru closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Sure, you've had a long day after a tiresome work hour."

Pulling his hand away from Tenji's shoulder, he brought them behind him and walked off towards the kitchen. "I should go get some snacks for Izumi, she must be hungry."

'Yes, you do just that.' Tenji nodded and looked down the hallway.

Before he got to his room, there was still some unfinished business he needed to take care of with Aki.

*****

Knock!

Knock!

"Get the fuck out!" Aki yelled in response.

Thud!

Tenji jumped back at the sound and facepalmed at the thought of that being either Aki's shoe or an electronics.

"You haven't confirmed who it is, yet your little lips spit out profanities!" Tenji banged on the door once more in response.

He could hear light steps on the floor and then a click followed.

Opening the door slightly, Aki's eyes scanned him with disgust. Holding the door open just enough for her head and half of her body visible.

"I can smell you from a mile away."

'As annoying as ever.' Tenji clicked his tongue and pushed slightly in.

Keeping her grip firm on the door jamb, "what the heck do you want, after shifting the blame on me?"

"Does mother know that you have a sharp tongue?" Tenji hissed, hurt that he was the only one who was chastised for his unintentional crude words that spilled out during his frustration.

A grin made its way to her lips and she batted her lashes at him. "Would I ever be caught? I'm way too innocent to be noticed."

"As much as I wished we could make do with the truce we had agreed on," Tenji pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"I do personally enjoy messing with you, just count yourself fortunate that I have a soft spot for your lack of what this family is proud of."

"Ouch!" Aki feigned pain and grabbed a handful of her top, patting slightly so she could be pitied.

"Would you like to witness the monster up close?" Tenji threatened with a smirk.

Slam!

Tenji had his mouth gaped open at her response to his little boneless threat.

"Stay out! It's best if you stay in your lane for now." Her voice cracked up with brimming fear.

Feeling that his presence had been rejected, he made a final word of departure. "Remember, I do hold a nasty temperament when triggered."

Aki's back was against the door whilst listening to his words in silence.

Wiping down his face, Tenji walked to his room.

*****

Creak!

Pushing in, Tenji flipped the switch on and watched his room get illuminated.

Stumbling back in shock, Tenji stared with wide eyes at the figure sitting on his bed.

"Rumi?!" He hissed, quickly slamming the door behind him and locking it.

Rumi, who already had her eyes locked on him from the moment he opened the door, had a wide grin on her lips.

"Professor Tenji." She said with a sultry voice, stepping down from his bed.

Tenji flinched at the thought of what she could have done on his bed, the horror of scattering the perfectly laid bed he had made before leaving for the academy made his body itch.

Gasp!

Rumi dropped to her knees, her fingers spread on the floor and coughing.

Tenji took a step closer, slightly triggered by her presence and his eyes glowing with rekindled displeasure.

"I had taken you in as a student with potential," he began, squatting and grabbing her by her chin and pulling her face so she could look directly into his eyes.

~Kill her!~

'Fuck off!' Shaking off the thought, Tenji exhaled before he continued.

"I don't know what sort of interest you would have for such a mysterious if not dangerous professor as I am." Tenji sneered.

It was one thing to break into his room, it was another to repeatedly force her presence into his life.

He thought about the fact that he would be in a bigger mess if Aki or his parents were to find out about Rumi's presence and a bigger misunderstanding be met.

Creating a barrier around his room to block out any noise and restrict any from getting in, he looked down at her with disinterest.

"I don't care!" Rumi coughed out, managing to pull her face away from his grip, pushing back with the little strength she could muster.

'How... Why am I this weak?' She hyperventilated, regretting her method of approach.

Remembering the last time they had spoken in the healing bay, she needed to redeem herself and had risked getting into his home.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you are so weak." Tenji cackled and immediately his mood darkened.

"Remember the Artiquem?" Tenji laughed, clicking his tongue at how naive his students are.

"It's a double-edged sword, just as how you can grow in your grade score from training with it, it can crumble your cultivation just by my will," Tenji explained.

'That's how it is?' Rumi sighed.

Pulling a chair by his side, he sat comfortably and crossed his leg over the other. "No one intrudes into my private life and comes out unscathed!"

Rumi crouched, gasping for breath, forcing her head up to glare at him.

"Don't give me that look, I'm this way to those I consider intruders, especially in my home, but be glad I have a special interest in you," Tenji said with a wicked grin.

Rumi adjusted her position, pushing on the ground and forcing a smile, "what would you have done if I wasn't known by you?"

A smirk made its way to Tenji's lips at the question, "trust me, you wouldn't want to know."

There was something unsettling about his facial expression that made her stomach churn.

"Let's skip that, tell me, why the fuck are you here?!" Tenji leaned forward with a dead serious face.

*****

A/N

¶ Do you think Rumi would back off after this encounter?

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