Chapter 9: Sharing The Secret

I sipped my warm coffee and flipped the page of the book I was reading. It was titled 'Master The Art of Sign Language'. I decided to pick up the skill because I wanted to have a full-on conversation with Shouko, and I didn't want her to depend on using her notepad all the time. I looked at the clock in my room and saw that Ryuji should arrive in about half an hour to meet Komachi.

I turned back to my book and placed a bookmark on the page I was on. I was halfway done with the book and had begun to gain a solid understanding of the language. In a few more days, I should be able to master the skill completely. Thank you, intelligence stat.

"Now then, let's see what I'll get." I said and pulled up my inventory, where I had three saved gift boxes. But before I could open one, a brand new notification popped up in front of me.

[ (!) NOTIFICATION ]

[ You have (3) Gift Boxes. Would you like to combine all available boxes for the chance of a rare item? ]

[ 50% Chance at winning a rare item. ]

[ ACCEPT ] [ REJECT ]

Interesting. I held my chin and contemplated on what to do. I could gamble my options away and get something rare, but there would be a fifty percent chance of failure. Or I could play it safe and receive three guaranteed random items.

Gacha games aren't really my thing, but maybe I'll get lucky. I nodded and accepted the prompt. I waited with bated breath and was shocked at the item drop. A large, golden key landed on my open palm.

[ ITEM: DUNGEON KEY ]

[ ITEM CLASS: A ]

[ TYPE: KEY ]

[ A key that allows you to create an instant dungeon. You may use this behind the Chiba City Museum of Science. ]

My jaw dropped when I saw what I had been gifted. Another key! An A-ranked key. With this, I could grow even stronger. I closed my eyes and thought of what I should do. It was Wednesday, so I had time to plan my attack strategy for this weekend. My face shifted into a grin as I imagined the opportunity to fight and grow my level. The rush of a hard-fought battle was an amazing one.

Now that I think about it, I felt nothing like that during my fight with Touji. Was it because he wasn't that much stronger than me, if at all? I knew I wasn't trying to kill him, so that meant my more lethal means of taking an opponent out was out of the question. My line of thinking was cut short when I heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

x x x

"My name is Ryuji Sakamoto! Nice to meet ya."

"I'm Komachi Hikigaya! Thank you for taking care of my useless brother."

I watched as both Komachi and Ryuji bowed slightly at one another in greeting. I coughed, and Komachi turned to me in mock surprise. "Ah, big bro! I didn't see you there!"

"Uh-huh." I muttered and turned to Ryuji. He opted to wear a black shirt, pants, a purple hoodie, and white and red stripes going down the sleeves. "Thanks for coming, Ryuji."

"Don't mention it!" Ryuji waved me off and followed Komachi and me to the living room once he removed his shoes. Our parents weren't home due to work, although this wasn't the case as much anymore, but today was one of those days they had to stick around longer. Komachi had been disappointed that they would have missed meeting Ryuji, but I reassured her he could come again some other time.

"Have a seat." Komachi said happily and motioned to our purple couch. "I'll prepare some tea and snacks."

"Thanks!" Ryuji said, and Komachi nodded with a smile. She walked off to the kitchen and started to boil some water. "Man, it's hard to believe that's your sister. You two are nothing alike."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I grinned as we sat on the purple couch in the living room. "Do you have any siblings?"

Ryuji shook his head. "Nah, I'm an only child. It got lonely at times, but it wasn't so bad." Ryuji said through half-lidded eyes. I still didn't know much about Ryuji, but I hoped that would change with time. This was a good place to start.

"I see." As I finished speaking, Komachi returned to the living room with a tray of snacks and tea. She handed Ryuji and them myself a cup.

"Please help yourself." Komachi said as she motioned to the small variety of snacks. I couldn't help but be amused at how much trouble my sister was going through to be the perfect host. "Not you, bro. These are for Sakamoto."

I looked at her, betrayed, as my hand froze halfway toward a cookie. Ryuji just laughed at my blatant mistreatment. Never mind, I don't want to get to know you anymore! "So tell me, Sakamoto. How did you meet my big bro?" Komachi asked and sipped her tea from her spot adjacent to me on the L-shaped sectional couch.

Ryujis eyes looked over me, almost unsure how to answer. We couldn't exactly tell my sister we met after I was manhandled viciously by one of our teachers. "Uh- we met in class! Yeah! This guy and I share the same class, so we just hit it off!" Nice one, Ryuji. Real smooth. Komachi eyed Ryuji oddly and then looked at me in suspicion.

"Big bro. You're not paying Sakamoto to be your friend… are you?" Komachi said in a deadpan voice. Ryuji found this to be extremely funny and began laughing. I glared at him, but it carried no heat. Komachi and I began to laugh as well.

"N-no! He's not paying me." Ryuji said with a chuckle. "We're friends. Good friends, I can't remember when I could have been as open with someone before him. Hachiman is a good guy. I'm glad I talked to you that day." Ryuji said with a happy grin. Komachi's eyes sparkled, and she beamed at me.

"I'm happy to hear that. I really am." Komachi said slowly and placed her tea cup on the coffee table. She then turned to Ryuji and bowed to him with her hands on her lap. "Please continue being good friends with my big bro."

"You bet!" Ryuji said. Komachi sat up straight, a happy smile on her face. We continued talking about random subjects after that, with at-ease smiles.

I could see that Komachi liked Ryuji exceptionally well. Ryuji did have that effect on people once you gave him the chance. But at school, he was treated as a delinquent for his past with Kamoshida and for the way, he dyed his hair blonde. It was hard for him to make friends. I felt connected to him in that aspect.

"…and then Nishimiya fed Hachiman these amazing shrimp dumplings! You should have seen his face! He was as bright as a fire hydrant!" Ryuji said with a laugh, and Komachi froze. I looked at her oddly and remembered that I had forgotten to tell her about Shouko. Crap.

"Who's Nishimiya?" Komachi said with closed eyes and a cold smile. She turned to me slowly, and I felt the atmosphere grow heavier. "Well, big bro? Care to explain?"

Ryuji turned to me, confused and slightly concerned. I laughed nervously at him and waved his worry away. I then turned to Komachi and told her all about Shouko. Her face grew in surprise and amazement until it settled on the happiest smile I'd ever seen from her.

"You have a girl friend! Komachi can't believe it!" Komachi exclaimed and grabbed her cheeks. She was spinning back and forth like a blushing schoolgirl, and I couldn't help but grow annoyed. I can make friends who happen to be girls, too!

"Don't phrase it like that! Shouko's just a good friend!" I said quickly, but at this point, she wasn't listening to me anymore. I turned to Ryuji for help, but he was happily munching away at the remaining snacks while watching what was happening with an amused expression. Traitor!

The rest of the evening was filled with nonstop teasing from Komachi and Ryuji as we ate dinner and watched some television. Even if it was a little annoying, I knew I was smiling throughout the night.

x x x

I walked through the school's halls and saw everyone giving me a wide birth of space. I frowned and looked over at a group of whispering students. They noticed my stare and hurried away into their class. Just great.

It seems that my fight with Touji was told throughout the school by those students who had watched it. And as rumors go, they become embellished and exaggerated with every new storyteller. At some point, someone said I snapped a tree in two and hit Touji across the track field like a baseball. What had actually happened was that my back snapped the tree in two.

I rolled my eyes and turned the corner of the hall. I looked up and saw Shouko's back, but before I could walk in her direction, I saw the very same group of girls that harassed and bullied her all those days ago. Shouko stood with her back against the wall with the small group of second-years in front of her. Circling and trapping her between their bodies and the vending machine to Shouko's right.

"Hey, I know you can read lips." The leader said with a dry tone. "I forgot to bring any money for lunch today. So give me what you have." She then held out her hand and made a give me motion.

Shouko looked up at her and began to write something, but the notepad was grabbed and thrown to the side. It slid over to me; I bent down and gently picked it up. My hair shadowed my eyes.

"I didn't ask for a note! I asked for your money!" The leader said, annoyed, and pushed Shouko back into the wall by grabbing her left shoulder. Shouko's eyes looked over to where her notepad was thrown but then looked surprised when she saw me.

"I'm talking to you!" The second-year yelled but winced in pain when I grabbed her forearm and pulled her hand off my friend. They looked at me in shock at my sudden appearance. Two of her lackey's eyes widened with recognition and backed away slightly.

"T-that's one of the Awakened students." A girl with shoulder-length brunette hair said shakily. "He's the one that destroyed the track field yesterday alongside Hatanaka."

Upon hearing that, the leader's eyes grew wide with fright, and they tried to pull her arm away. I didn't even budge. Her small group ran away like roaches when the light turned on and abandoned their leader. "WAIT!" The girl in my hands yelled, but her call went ignored. She slowly turned to me and flinched when her eyes met mine. Unknown to me, I had unconsciously activated one of my skills.

[ SKILL: BLOODLUST has been activated ]

"I don't ever wanna see you or your worthless friends anywhere near Shouko again." I said coldly, and the girl in my grasp began to sweat madly. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably, and it seemed she would throw up any second. "Am I clear?"

The girl nodded in agreement so fast that her hair began to jostle around wildly. I let her go, and she ran down the hall like a panicked deer. It wasn't until later that she realized she had wet herself. I then looked at the scant few people who were in this part of the hall and glared at them with my glowing eyes. They all had been watching the interaction nervously but jumped in fear at my gaze and ran off to class. This would surely create even more rumors about me, but I didn't care.

I spun around and saw Shouko looking up at me with worry. The worry didn't stem from being afraid of me. No, the worry was from the concern she had for me. I may have just made myself public enemy number one at this school for what I did. Regardless, I did what I had to do. I wouldn't stand by and watch those I care about be mistreated, not when I now have the power to do something about it.

I smiled softly at Shouko and handed her the thrown notepad. She accepted it with a thankful smile and made to write on it. I surprised her when I moved my hands in a specific pattern.

'Are you okay?' I said through my rough knowledge of sign language. Her eyes sparkled like stars, and she produced a gorgeous smile that made my heart skip a beat. Please don't smile like that, Shouko! My tiny heart can't take it!

'You learned how to sign!' Shouko said with her hands. I had to think hard about what she said. I still had much more material to cover, but I had an okay understanding of what she meant. I nodded and responded.

'Yes, I learned for you.' I said and made a slight mistake towards the end. I felt slightly embarrassed and looked at my hands to repeat my message, completely missing the large blush on Shouko's face. 'I wanted to be able to speak to you better.'

I looked up at her in hopes I made the proper hand signs, but she had covered her face with the notepad. Shit, what did I say wrong! Before I could say anything, Shouko put her notepad away and looked at me.

'That's amazing!' She signed. 'Thank you for learning for me!' Shouko tilted her head and smiled cutely. I nodded and told her we should hurry to class. It wouldn't be long before the bell rang. She nodded, and we both made our way to our destination.

As we walked, several gossiping students looked at us in curiosity, but a quick glance from me sent them away. Off to my side, Shouko walked with a happy expression and kept sending glances at me quickly. It went unnoticed by me, and we pressed on.

x x x

Lunchtime. I was eating lunch in my new spot, outside the first floor of the special-use building, right by the nurse's office, diagonally from the rear of the school. It was situated so that I could look over at the tennis court, and every now and then, I'd get rewarded with a breeze from the sea.

"Oh! Let me try some!"

"Hey! Leave Shouko's lunch alone!"

"You're just saying that because you want it for yourself!"

'Please don't fight!'

I sighed and looked at my small group of friends as they fought over a piece of Shouko's kaarage. Ryuji and Iroha were arguing back and forth, annoying me in the process. Yui sat beside Shouko and laughed awkwardly as the two argued. I shook my head and continued eating my onigiri in peace. Best stay out of that.

I glanced over at Iroha as I chewed; since the incident with Touji, she had inexplicably joined our little group. No one had even questioned it either; they just accepted her, and we proceeded like always. I didn't mind her presence, but I did feel slightly responsible for bringing her into my beef with Touji. So, the least I could do was watch out for her. Plus, when she wasn't teasing me, she was a pretty alright person.

"Hey, Hikki?" Yui said, grabbing my attention from the bickering duo. "Do you… do you have any plans this weekend?" Her question got the attention of both Iroha and Shouko. They looked at Yui and then at me nervously.

I swallowed my food and took a sip of my water. "I do. I promised Ryuji here we'd train together up in the mountains." I looked at said friend and saw him turn serious; he grinned cheerfully and nodded at Yui.

"That's right! It'll be running and working out nonstop for us!" Ryuji said with a smile. I could tell it was slightly forced. I closed my eyes and felt a pang of guilt for having Ryuji lie to everyone. Sorry, Ryuji. I'll buy you a beef bowl later.

When he came to meet Komachi that evening, I pulled him up to my room and told him what was happening to me. At least, an abridged version of what happened.

[ Flashback ]

Ryuji and I were in my room, and he was looking at the SERVANT OF ANUBIS DAGGER in my hand. I then dismissed it in a quick flash of light and then summoned the ATLANTEAN BLADE. He rubbed his eyes and looked at me with amazement.

"For real?" He whispered.

"For real." I said with a nod. He shook his head and sat on my bed with a troubled look.

"That's how you were able to fight that asshole Hatanaka despite being an E-Rank." He said to himself. He nodded and then looked at me. "You're saying you can keep getting stronger and stronger too. Has something like this ever happened?"

I shook my head and leaned forward on my gaming chair. "No. Trust me, I've done a lot of research on whether anyone else has this ability. But I'm a unique case." I said and leaned back. "An Awakened individual or a Hunter has their ability established as soon as they awaken. When they awaken, they have a certain amount of magical power within their body. That power determines what rank you're placed in; from descending order, it would be S, A, B, C, D, and E-Rank. However, once these powers have awakened. No amount of training or effort can ever result in greater strength."

Ryuji hummed and nodded. "Basically, you get what you get. But you don't. How's that possible?" He laid back with his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling. I sighed and spun around in my chair aimlessly.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that I unlocked this ability sometime during my coma. Ever since it's just something that I can use." I said and stopped spinning by placing a foot down. Ryuji sat up and looked at me seriously.

"How strong do you think you'll get?" Ryuji asked. I looked over at him and shook my head. "I don't know. So far, I haven't hit a limit. I could get as strong as I want, maybe even stronger than an S-Ranked Hunter?"

"Thanks." Ryuji said suddenly. I turned to him with a confused look. "I mean, thanks for trusting me with your secret. I know we haven't been bros too long, but I'll keep your secret to the grave. You can count on me!" Ryuji slammed a fist to his chest and grinned.

"Thanks, Ryuji." I said gratefully. I stood up and summoned a small silver bottle with glowing red liquid inside. Ryuji looked at it in amazement. "I want you to take this. It's a strong healing potion. I want to see if it will heal your injured leg."

"Holy shit, dude! These things cost, like, millions of yen!" Ryuji yelled and jumped up. "I-I can't accept that! No way, man! Don't you need that for those dungeons?" I smiled and held the potion up higher.

"It's okay. I want you to use it." I said and held it out to him. Ryuji looked unsure but ultimately agreed. He accepted the potion and opened its silver lid; he lifted it to his nose and took an appraising sniff. "Strawberry?" Ryuji mumbled and shrugged. He lifted the potion into his mouth and drank it all in one quick gulp.

The results were immediate. A mystical red glow illuminated his body, mainly concentrating around his right knee. After a few seconds, it disappeared, and Ryuji looked down at his leg in amazement and relief. He bent down and rubbed his knee slowly.

"…the pain is gone." Ryuji whispered. "It's really gone." Silently, he began to cry. I grew nervous but kneeled next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He then grabbed my own and turned to me with a big, thankful smile.

"Thank you."

I nodded at him. The two of us just sat on the floor until Komachi called us down for dinner.

[ Present ]

From then on, Ryuji promised to help me however he could. I knew he had no qualms about covering for me so I could go into dungeons or, in the case of this weekend, A new world. But he'd prefer not to lie to everyone.

"I-I see." Yui said dejectedly and turned away from me. "Maybe next time, then." I nodded and looked thankfully at Ryuji. He gave me a weak smile and a tiny nod.

Soon enough, everyone returned to their lunches and began talking to each other as if nothing happened. I felt another sea breeze tickle my face and sighed in contentment. I couldn't help but feel giddy for this weekend.

x x x

[ (!) Notification ]

[ You have entered the instance dungeon ]

I woke up early this morning, around four, and headed to the Museum of Science. Once I arrived, I did the same as with the last instance dungeon and allowed the key to guide me to its portal location. Once I found it, a large green portal emerged with a small keyhole in the center.

Unlike last time, I made sure to pack the proper supplies and food in my inventory. I wouldn't have to worry about Komachi or my parents because, as far as they're aware, I'm currently training with Ryuji up in the Chiba mountains. I had given my phone to Ryuji to pose as me, so I was covered on that front.

With all my bases covered, I placed the key inside the hole and spun it. The portal became even brighter as long arcs of lightning surged around it. I took a deep breath and stepped inside.