"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 Girl in Chains — Of Course We're Compatible!
The morning air felt different somehow — just slightly.
Kokonoe Tooru stared absently out the window of his dorm room, watching the light pour in. Several days had passed since the entrance ceremony. He had beaten Nagakura Imari at the Qualification Rite. He had been summoned by Chairman Tsukumo Sakuya. And then there was the matter of his Blaze partner — still undecided.
—You'll just be expelled. Simple, isn't it?
Sakuya's words echoed in the back of his mind.
Tooru exhaled deeply. He traced the black wristband on his left wrist with the fingers of his right hand. His little sister's keepsake. That texture alone kept him tethered to reality.
(...A partner, huh.)
He muttered it inwardly.
At Koryo Academy, students were required to form two-person Blaze pairs. They complemented each other's Blaze, lived in shared rooms, and carried out missions together. Without a partner, you couldn't stay at the academy. His path to revenge would be severed.
(Anyone will do. As long as they don't get in my way.)
Tooru decided to settle for that.
But that very afternoon, his pragmatic resolve would be shattered to pieces by a single girl.
The partner selection was held in the First Training Grounds.
A vast indoor facility. White lines marked the floor, the ceiling was high, and voices carried well. New students gathered in clusters, buzzing with chatter. Everyone was searching for the person who would become their other half. The air was thick with a mixture of hope and anxiety.
Tooru stood alone by the wall, watching the scene unfold.
(...What a pain.)
He muttered inwardly.
Around him, students who had already hit it off were striking up conversations. Some were showing each other their Blaze forms, checking compatibility. Tooru's Blaze was a shield. A heretic Blaze with no offensive power. No one would want to pair with him.
(Well, that's fine.)
Tooru closed his eyes.
—That was when it happened.
The murmuring spread like a wave.
" Hey, look. It's Tachibana Tomoe — Tachibana Tomoe!"
" What, the Tachibana-style dojo? She's really strong, right?"
" But isn't Hotaka Miyabi her partner? What's she doing here?"
The students around him all turned to look in the same direction.
Tooru lifted his head, drawn by the commotion.
A girl stood at the entrance of the training grounds.
Straight, long black hair. Piercing jet-black eyes. Her spine was perfectly straight, her stance as crisp and clean as a swordswoman standing in a dojo. The cuff of her uniform occasionally revealed the mark of a hand guard. Perhaps because of her serious expression, a faint crease had formed between her brows.
Tachibana Tomoe.
Tooru knew the name. Her family ran a dojo for the Tachibana Eighteen Arts, and she herself was a highly skilled Blaze user — a girl famous throughout the year.
Tomoe scanned the training grounds with a direct, unwavering gaze.
Her eyes were searching for something.
—And then they stopped.
On Tooru.
(...What?)
Tooru furrowed his brow.
Tomoe walked toward him with steps that held no hesitation. The students around them held their breath.
And then Tomoe came to a stop right in front of Tooru.
Her jet-black eyes looked straight up at him.
" You're Kokonoe Tooru, aren't you."
Tooru tensed slightly.
"...That's right."
Tomoe gave a small nod.
Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear, she declared clearly:
" You. Pair with me."
For a moment, time stopped.
Every eye in the training grounds pierced through Tooru and Tomoe.
" ...Huh?"
Tooru let out a dumbfounded sound.
Tomoe was completely unfazed.
" Our Blaze. Your shield and my chains. We're clearly compatible."
It was an assertion with no basis whatsoever.
Tooru couldn't help but argue.
" Hold on. How do you figure that? My Blaze is a shield. It has no offensive power."
" Exactly."
Tomoe cut him off sharply.
" My chains are specialized for offense. But defense isn't my strong suit. With your shield, my weakness is completely covered. My attack and your defense. There's no better combination."
Tomoe's voice was full of confidence.
Tooru was at a loss for words.
(Is this girl serious?)
Shield and chains. Sure, on paper they might be complementary. But Blaze compatibility wasn't that simple.
" ...Do you even know what my Blaze is really like?"
Tooru asked in a low voice.
Tomoe stared steadily into his eyes.
" I know. At the Qualification Rite, you won against a blade with nothing but a shield. You didn't attack — you wore your opponent down completely. That's not something just anyone can do."
Tooru's eyes went wide.
" ...You were watching?"
" Yes. I was interested in how you fight."
Tomoe's lips softened just slightly.
" Your shield can't become a weapon. But your power to protect is real. That's the kind of person I want to pair with."
Something stirred faintly in Tooru's chest.
—Your power to protect is real.
Those words sank deeper than he had expected.
The people around them began to murmur.
" Hey, Tachibana Tomoe is pairing with the shield guy?"
" What about Hotaka Miyabi? Isn't she her partner?"
" A shield is just dead weight, isn't it?"
The deliberately audible whispers reached Tooru's ears.
Tooru bit his lip.
(...Of course.)
Pairing with him would drag Tomoe's reputation down too.
" ...Do you understand what people will say if you pair with me?"
Tooru spoke in a voice only Tomoe could hear.
Tomoe looked at him blankly.
" What will they say?"
" ...That you're paired with a shield — dead weight. They'll laugh at you."
Tomoe furrowed her brow slightly.
Then she said clearly:
" There's no need to care about that. I'm the heir to the Tachibana-style dojo. Once I've decided something, I don't go back on it. Whether you're a shield or a weapon doesn't matter. I've decided to pair with you."
Tomoe's voice rang out across the training grounds.
The murmuring stopped dead.
Tooru stared into Tomoe's jet-black eyes.
There was not a single cloud of doubt in them.
Eyes so direct they were almost too direct.
(...This girl is serious.)
Tooru was convinced.
Tomoe would not back down an inch.
Tooru exhaled deeply.
" ...Fine."
Tomoe's expression lit up instantly.
" Really? Thank you!"
Tomoe grabbed Tooru's hand with both of hers.
" Let's get along from now on, Tooru. Oh — you can just call me Tomoe. I'll call you Tooru too."
Tooru, overwhelmed by her momentum, faltered.
" ...Yeah. Likewise."
And so, the Blaze pair of Kokonoe Tooru and Tachibana Tomoe was formed — abruptly, and entirely one-sided.
After the partner selection, Tooru was walking through the academy hallway.
Tomoe had gone to the staff room to handle the paperwork.
(...To think I'd actually end up paired with her.)
Tooru felt a little disconnected from reality.
—That was when it happened.
" ...Um."
A small voice came from behind Tooru.
He turned around to find a girl standing there — soft chestnut hair in a semi-long cut, tied with a large ribbon. Her gentle amber eyes were brimming, as if she might burst into tears at any moment. She was clutching a small notebook tightly against her chest.
Hotaka Miyabi.
Tooru knew her name. She was the girl called the academy's Madonna — a popular figure. And until just moments ago, she had been Tomoe's partner.
" ...You're Hotaka, right? Did you need something?"
Tooru asked in as soft a voice as he could manage.
Miyabi's shoulders gave a small jump.
" Um, that is... you're Kokonoe-kun, right?"
" Yeah."
Miyabi clasped her hands in front of her chest and looked down.
" ...Please don't take my Tomoe-chan away from me."
For a moment, Tooru couldn't process what he'd just heard.
" ...What?"
Tears spilled from Miyabi's large eyes.
" Tomoe-chan is my partner. We've been working hard together all this time. So... please. Give Tomoe-chan back to me."
Tooru was thrown into confusion.
(Give her back...? It's not like I forcibly took her.)
But Miyabi's grief was genuine.
" ...Hotaka. Don't misunderstand. Tachibana Tomoe just told me, one-sidedly, that we were pairing up. I didn't steal her."
Tooru spoke honestly.
Miyabi raised her tear-streaked face.
" But... Tomoe-chan decided to pair with you. She's leaving me behind."
Miyabi's voice was trembling.
Tooru didn't know what to say.
Even Tooru, dense as he was about matters of the heart, could understand that Miyabi held feelings for Tomoe that went beyond partnership.
" ...Hotaka. You should tell Tachibana Tomoe how you feel directly. Telling me won't change anything."
That was all Tooru could manage.
Miyabi shook her head.
" I did tell her. But Tomoe-chan wouldn't listen to me..."
Then Miyabi fixed her gaze on Tooru's face.
" Besides... I also, about Kokonoe-kun..."
She got that far, then suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth.
" ...What?"
Tooru asked again.
Miyabi's cheeks turned bright red in an instant.
" N-nothing! I'm sorry!"
With that cry, Miyabi spun around and ran off.
Tooru stood there, stunned, watching her retreating back.
(...What was that about?)
He muttered inwardly.
—That was when it happened.
" Miyabi, what's wrong?"
At some point, Tomoe had appeared beside Tooru.
She was staring at Miyabi's fleeing figure with a blank expression.
" ...Did you not hear any of that?"
Tooru asked, incredulous.
Tomoe tilted her head.
" Just now? Did Miyabi say something to you?"
Tooru heaved a deep sigh.
(...This girl really doesn't understand anything about romance.)
That day, Tooru learned firsthand just how oblivious Tomoe was when it came to matters of the heart.
That night.
Tooru and Tomoe were in a room in the academy dormitory.
Pairs who had formed a Blaze bond were given shared rooms.
The room was larger than expected. Two bunk beds, two desks, two small closets. Simple construction, but clean and not uncomfortable.
" So this is our room starting today."
Tomoe looked around the room, still holding her luggage.
" ...Yeah."
Tooru replied shortly.
Sharing a room with a girl.
Even if it was the system, he still couldn't relax.
Tomoe began efficiently unpacking her things. Her movements were economical — befitting a martial artist.
Tooru placed his own luggage on the bed.
" Hey, Tomoe. There's one thing I want to confirm."
Tooru steeled himself and broached the subject.
Tomoe stopped and turned around.
" What?"
" ...Living in the same room means there's a possibility of, you know, that kind of thing between a man and a woman, right?"
Tooru said, choosing his words carefully.
Tomoe looked at him blankly.
" That kind of thing?"
" ...I mean, in the romantic sense."
Tooru's voice grew quieter.
Tomoe seemed to understand his words, and gave a small nod.
Then, with a completely straight face, she looked directly into Tooru's eyes.
" I don't really understand romance and all that. So don't expect anything like that from me."
For a moment, Tooru couldn't process what he'd heard.
And then—
He burst out laughing.
" ...Pfft, haha!"
Tooru doubled over, clutching his stomach.
" W-what's so funny?!"
Tomoe protested, puffing out her cheeks.
" No, sorry. You said it with such a straight face."
Tooru laughed until tears came.
" How rude. I'm being serious."
Tomoe turned away with a huff.
Tooru, pressing his aching stomach from laughing too much, said:
" ...No, it's just — I feel relieved somehow."
Tomoe glanced at him.
" Relieved?"
" Yeah. Now I know I don't have to walk on eggshells around you."
Tooru spoke his honest feelings.
Tomoe looked like she didn't understand.
But Tooru didn't notice that her cheeks had turned just slightly red.
The next morning.
An envelope was delivered to Tooru and Tomoe's room.
The sender: Koryo Academy Chairman, Tsukumo Sakuya.
Tooru opened the envelope and read the contents.
" ...A first mission, huh."
Tooru's voice dropped.
Tomoe peered over his shoulder.
" Really? What kind of mission?"
" Investigation of suspicious persons at the ol
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