"A shield can't be a weapon."
Everyone laughed at Kokonoe Tooru's Blaze—a pitiful, dinner-plate excuse for a soul armament. But they don't know why he enrolled at Rakuryou Academy. They don't know about the little sister he buried two years ago. And they don't know that the man who killed her is still out there.
Tooru doesn't need their respect. He needs strength. He needs a partner.
But in a school where Blaze partners are bound by fate and compatibility, who would ever choose to stand besid
Absolute Duo if: The Other Duo - The Avenger's Entrance Ceremony — A Shield Is Not a Weapon?
"A shield can't be a weapon."
A mocking laugh dropped into the entrance ceremony hall.
Kokonoe Tooru stared at the Blaze—his own soul made manifest—floating above his right hand. His short black hair, stubbornly wavy, stirred faintly in the gymnasium's air conditioning. His deep green eyes, filled with resolve, quietly reflected the scene.
What had materialized in his palm was a single shield, its surface gleaming dully. No—it was too small, too unreliable to even call a shield. Barely large enough to hold with both hands. Compared to the glittering weapons the other new students wielded—swords, spears, bows—it looked like a piece of dinnerware that had wandered onto a battlefield.
"What is that, a shield? Can it even attack?"
"Dunno. But it's kinda lame, right?"
Unstifled giggles bubbled up from here and there.
Tooru pressed his lips into a tight line.
(...Laugh all you want.)
He spat the words inside his mind. He was used to it. How different this shield was from everyone else's. How utterly useless. He'd been made to learn that lesson again and again and again.
—It's fine. Even if it can't be a weapon.
Tooru gripped the shield. The black wristband wrapped around his left wrist bit into his skin beneath his uniform sleeve. It was his little sister's keepsake. From that day two years ago, from that very moment, this wristband alone had been his support.
—I'll become strong so I can protect.
For that, a shield was enough.
Rakuryou Academy.
Japan's foremost Blaze educational institution. At the foot of the Hekika mountain range, sixty kilometers northwest of Tendou. A sprawling campus city where roughly three thousand students gathered. Here, those who possessed the power to manifest their souls—Blaze—studied combat technique.
Tooru had enrolled at this academy for exactly one purpose.
—To kill Naraku Sakaki.
The man who had cut down his little sister Otoha two years ago. The man who had trained at the same dojo.
For that, he could endure any humiliation. The ones laughing at him for only being able to produce a shield—he didn't care about them at all.
"...Hey, look. That guy's got a shield."
"Seriously? Aren't Blaze supposed to be weapons?"
"Is it some kind of special ability? That's rare."
"Rare doesn't mean anything if it's useless."
Tooru exhaled deeply.
The voices around him felt distant.
The scene from that day resurfaced in his mind.
The dojo at dusk. The smell of blood. Otoha, collapsed. The red spreading from her back. And Naraku Sakaki's cold profile as he swung through with a blade that had a white edge and a black core.
His heart made an ugly sound.
Tooru closed his eyes and forced the memory back down.
Not yet. Don't remember yet.
Immediately after the entrance ceremony, the traditional event known as the Rite of Qualification began.
New students faced each other one-on-one in mock battles to demonstrate their ability. It was a rite of passage to earn the academy's recognition of their aptitude as Blaze wielders. Win, and you gained formal admission. Lose, and you left the academy on the spot.
Tooru's opponent was a girl named Nagakura Imari.
A bright-looking girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail with a large light-green ribbon.
"I'm Nagakura Imari! Nice to meet you!"
She gave a quick bow. The type who could talk to anyone without hesitation—a sociable personality. Her voice held more curiosity than nervousness.
"Kokonoe Tooru."
Tooru answered curtly.
"Your Blaze is a shield, right? That's interesting. I think this might be my first time fighting someone with a shield."
Imari smiled brightly. No malice. Just pure interest.
"...I see."
Tooru said nothing more.
The match began.
Imari's Blaze was a katana. She wielded it beautifully. Her footwork and blade paths made it obvious she'd seen her share of real fights. Even the spectators who'd been mocking Tooru's shield held their breath at her movements.
"Here I come!"
Imari's blade came down sharply.
Tooru caught it with his shield.
A heavy impact jolted up his arm with a clang. The clash of Blaze against Blaze scattered sparks.
(...Heavy.)
Tooru gritted his teeth.
The blade slid across the shield's surface and grazed his shoulder. His uniform tore, and a thin line of blood seeped through.
"Ah, sorry! Are you okay?"
Imari froze for just an instant.
Tooru seized the opening and put distance between them.
"Don't worry about me during a match."
Tooru's voice was low and cold.
Imari's brows drooped slightly.
"...Right. Then I won't hold back."
The blade came at him again.
Tooru kept blocking. Endlessly, relentlessly.
Slash from the right. Sweep from the left. Overhead strike. Imari's attacks were all precise and fast. But Tooru moved his shield, deflecting everything with minimal motion.
Voices flew from the spectator seats.
"A shield can't be a weapon."
Mockery.
"Attack already, Shield Boy!"
Jeers.
Tooru didn't react.
(It doesn't have to be a weapon. I'll become strong so I can protect.)
He repeated it in his mind, over and over.
But reality was harsh.
Imari's assault didn't stop.
Every time her blade struck the shield, his arm went numb. Blaze was linked to mental strength. Continuously absorbing an opponent's attacks wore away at the spirit.
(...But not yet.)
Tooru endured.
Imari's movements were gradually slowing.
She was pouring everything into her attacks. That meant her stamina was draining fast. With every swing, her breathing grew rougher.
"S-stubborn...!"
Sweat glistened on Imari's forehead.
Tooru had been waiting for this moment.
(Just a little more...)
Imari's blade path wavered, just slightly.
Tooru deflected the katana with his shield and stepped forward for the first time.
One step.
Just one step.
But to the exhausted Imari, that step was heavy.
Keeping his shield raised, Tooru dove into her guard.
"Huh—"
Imari's eyes went wide.
Tooru slammed the edge of his shield into her katana.
Clang.
The blade flew from Imari's hands.
A Blaze was connected to its wielder's spirit. If it was destroyed, the backlash could knock the owner unconscious. But Tooru hadn't destroyed it. He'd only forced her to let go.
Imari stared blankly at her own hands.
Then she dropped to her knees.
Her breath was ragged. She was gasping, shoulders heaving.
"...That's enough."
The referee's voice rang out.
Tooru had won.
The hall fell silent.
No one had predicted this outcome.
The man who could only produce a shield had beaten a katana wielder.
"...You're really stubborn, you know that?"
Imari, still short of breath, smiled anyway. Frustration colored her expression, but her eyes acknowledged Tooru.
"...You were strong."
Tooru answered briefly.
Imari let out a soft laugh.
"Losing and getting comforted. ...Well, whatever. Let's do this again sometime, Kokonoe-kun."
Tooru nodded without a word.
After the Rite of Qualification, Tooru was summoned to the director's office.
The director of Rakuryou Academy was a woman named Tsukumo Sakuya.
She looked like a girl of about ten. Small, delicate, with large eyes—an adorable child. But deep within those eyes lurked something unfathomable.
"Kokonoe Tooru-kun, is it? ...Hmm. You have a more ordinary face than I expected."
Sakuya smiled sweetly.
Tooru felt something cold run down his spine.
(...What is this brat?)
Don't be fooled by appearances.
His intuition told him so.
"So, what do you want?"
Tooru suppressed his emotions and asked.
Sakuya poked at the documents on her desk with a fingertip.
"Your Blaze is a special ability. The kind that can't pass the normal entrance exam. So I used my authority to admit you as a special exception."
Tooru narrowed his eyes.
"...You knew."
"Of course I did. I'm the director. I know everything about the students who come to this academy."
Sakuya swung her legs back and forth on the chair.
"You have value. ...But you're still raw ore. If you don't polish yourself, you're just a common stone."
Her voice dropped, just slightly.
"...What are you getting at?"
Tooru looked straight into Sakuya's eyes.
Sakuya smiled broadly.
"Decide on a partner for your Bond Duo before your next mission. That's the first assignment I'm giving you."
Bond Duo.
Rakuryou Academy's partner system. Two people form a bond, complement each other's Blaze, and fight together.
"...And if I can't decide?"
Tooru asked in a low voice.
Sakuya tilted her head.
"You'll just be expelled. Simple, isn't it?"
Tooru bit his lip.
Expulsion.
That meant his path to revenge would be cut off.
"...Understood."
Tooru answered shortly.
Sakuya nodded, satisfied.
"Good. ...Ah, and one more thing—just a word of advice."
Sakuya's gaze fell on the black wristband around Tooru's left wrist.
"Don't let revenge consume you too much. Your Blaze reflects your heart. If you're stained by hatred, your shield won't be able to protect even you."
Tooru said nothing.
But Sakuya's words pierced deep into his heart.
Back in his dorm room, Tooru was alone.
The partner who was supposed to share his room hadn't been decided yet. So there was no one in this room but him.
A quiet room.
Outside the window, the sun was setting.
Tooru picked up a single photograph from his desk.
Otoha, smiling.
The little sister who had been beside him until two years ago.
"...I'll avenge you. I swear it."
Tooru's voice trembled.
He gripped the photograph.
He held it too tightly, and it creased slightly.
"...Sorry."
Tooru gently smoothed out the crease.
No tears came.
He had already cried himself dry.
Since that day, Tooru's tears had run out.
So instead, he swore in his heart.
—Otoha. I'll avenge you.
—For that, I'll do anything.
Outside the window, far in the distance, the light of the director's office glowed.
Tsukumo Sakuya was gazing at Tooru's file.
Her lips twisted eerily.
"Kokonoe Tooru... I can't wait to see how your shield will change the world."
Sakuya's eyes gleamed darkly.
Tooru didn't know yet.
That in this academy, he was not alone.
And that his shield would soon throw the fates of many girls into wild disarray.
The sun sank completely.
Night wrapped around Rakuryou Academy.
The avenger's story quietly raised its curtain.
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