"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 Meaning of the Shield — I Won't Let You Carry It All Alone!
White ceiling. The smell of antiseptic. The steady, rhythmic beep of machines.
Kokonoe Tooru slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurry. He blinked several times before it finally came into focus.
A hospital.
The medical facility on the grounds of Kouryou Academy, specializing in Blaze users. Tooru lay in one of its private rooms.
His body felt heavy as lead.
He tried to move his right arm, feeling the texture of the sheets. His fingertips were trembling slightly.
Tooru turned his gaze to the left, dreading what he would see.
From the elbow down, there was nothing.
White bandages were wrapped around it in layer after layer. Beneath them, there was nothing left.
—Just like two years ago. You can't protect anything.
Sakaki's voice echoed deep in his ears.
A cold, hollow voice.
Tooru bit down on his lip.
Otoha. Tomoe. And even his own arm.
That man had taken everything from him.
He had come to the academy for revenge. He had honed his Shield to grow stronger. And yet, before that man, he had been no better than an infant.
His Shield had shattered.
So easily it was almost laughable.
A deep, deep despair welled up from the bottom of his chest.
It's all over now.
The revenge, the pursuit of strength—all of it.
Tooru stared at the ceiling, unable to move.
BANG!!
The door to his room flew open with force.
"Tooru!!"
Tachibana Tomoe stood there, out of breath.
Her straight, long black hair was disheveled. Her jet-black eyes, usually so composed and sharp, were now wet with tears.
"Tooru... you... you...!"
Tomoe rushed to his bedside, clutching at his body as she broke down sobbing.
"Why... why did you go alone?! You left me—you left me behind!"
Tomoe's voice echoed through the hospital room.
Tooru couldn't say a word.
Tomoe's tears fell onto his cheek. They were warm.
"You always carry everything by yourself...! I'm your Duo partner, aren't I?! Why—why won't you talk to me?!"
Tomoe pounded her fists against his chest.
Thump, thump—weak, powerless blows, yet desperate.
"Idiot... idiot idiot idiot! I hate you so much!"
I hate you.
Even as she said it, Tomoe buried her face in his chest and kept crying.
Tooru slowly raised his right hand.
He gently touched the top of her head.
"...I didn't want to drag you into it."
Tooru's voice was hoarse.
"Drag me into it? What are you talking about?!"
Tomoe lifted her face. It was a mess of tears and snot.
"I'm your Duo partner! If you fight, I fight. If you get hurt, I get hurt. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?!"
Her words pierced deep into Tooru's chest.
"I won't let you carry it all alone...!"
Tomoe buried her face in his chest once more.
"Please... don't go alone anymore..."
A small voice, barely audible.
Tooru wrapped his right arm around Tomoe's trembling shoulders.
When was the last time someone had worried about him like this?
He had been alone ever since Otoha died.
He had lived with revenge as his only support, never opening his heart to anyone.
And yet, this girl—
Tomoe worried about him this much.
"...I'm sorry."
Tooru said it honestly.
"...Are you really reflecting on what you did?"
Tomoe asked through her tears.
"...Yeah."
Tooru gave a small nod.
Tomoe kept crying for a while, but eventually she slowly sat up.
"...I'm sorry. I lost my composure..."
Tomoe wiped her tears with her sleeve.
"...It's fine."
Tooru let go of her head.
Tomoe sat down in the chair beside his bed.
"Your arm... I heard from the doctor. Your left arm is already..."
Tomoe's voice trembled.
"Yeah. ...It's gone."
Tooru stared at the bandages on his left arm.
"But I'm alive. That's more than I can ask for."
Tooru said that and gave a small laugh.
"...How can you smile like that?"
Tears welled up in Tomoe's eyes again.
"What else am I supposed to do?"
Tooru looked up at the ceiling.
"...Hey, Tomoe. My Shield shattered."
"...What?"
Tomoe raised her face.
"Before that man, it crumbled like paper. ...I couldn't protect anything. Not Otoha, not you, not even my own arm."
Tooru's voice was quiet.
"...I'm weak. Far too weak."
Tomoe said nothing.
She simply gazed steadily at his profile.
"...But."
Tooru continued.
"If you're going to worry about me that much... then maybe I'll try a little harder."
Tomoe's eyes went wide.
"Tooru..."
"I still don't know what I can do. But giving up here would be too frustrating."
Tooru looked straight into Tomoe's eyes.
Tomoe gave a small nod.
"...Yeah. I'll help too. Until you can fight again—the whole time."
Strength had returned to Tomoe's voice.
For the first time, Tooru felt truly grateful to her from the bottom of his heart.
That night.
Moonlight streamed through the window of his hospital room.
Tomoe had stayed by Tooru's side until the very last minute before lights-out, but a nurse had finally shooed her away, and she had reluctantly returned to the dormitory.
Tooru lay alone in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His little sister's face floated through his mind.
An innocent smile.
"Big brother, I'm sorry."
Her last words.
That guilt still bound his heart, even now.
Knock, knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"...Who is it?"
Tooru asked warily.
No answer.
Instead, the door slowly opened.
"Good evening, Kokonoe Tooru-kun."
Standing there was Tsukumo Sakuya.
The headmistress of Kouryou Academy.
A girl with a childlike appearance who schemed to make Tooru and Tomoe into an "Absolute Duo."
"...Headmistress."
Tooru tensed.
Sakuya smiled sweetly and entered the room.
"I came to visit. How are you feeling?"
"...As you can see."
Tooru glanced at his left arm.
"I see. ...That's a shame."
Sakuya stood beside his bed and looked down at his face.
"But I'm sure you can overcome this."
"...What do you want?"
Tooru cut her off.
"My, how cold."
Sakuya giggled.
"Get to the point."
"...Very well. There's something I absolutely must tell you."
The smile vanished from Sakuya's face.
"Kokonoe Tooru. It's about your little sister, Otoha."
Tooru's heart leaped.
"...What about Otoha?"
His voice dropped low.
"She's alive."
Sakuya's words echoed quietly through the room.
"...What?"
Tooru couldn't believe his ears.
"Otoha is not dead. She's alive."
Sakuya repeated.
"...That's a lie. Back then, Otoha was definitely..."
The scene from two years ago flashed through his mind.
Otoha, covered in blood.
Her small hand growing cold.
"She looked dead. ...But in reality, it was different. She's still alive."
Sakuya's voice was cold, yet filled with certainty.
"...Where is she? Where is Otoha now?!"
Tooru leaned forward from his bed.
"She's in the hands of Naraku Sakaki."
Sakuya looked him straight in the eye.
"...In Sakaki's hands...?"
Strength drained from Tooru's entire body.
"Yes. That's why you must become stronger, or your sister cannot be saved. ...That's what this comes down to."
Sakuya turned her back to him and walked toward the window.
Moonlight illuminated her small frame.
"Your Shield is not yet the real thing."
Sakuya murmured while gazing outside.
"As long as there is something you want to protect, the Shield will grow stronger. ...Find what you truly want to protect."
Sakuya turned around and smiled at Tooru.
"Now then, take care."
With those words, Sakuya left the room.
Tooru stared blankly at the door she had walked through.
Otoha is alive.
He couldn't believe it.
But Sakuya had no reason to go out of her way to lie.
Hope and despair crashed over him at the same time.
Otoha is alive.
But she's in that man's hands.
Tooru clenched his right fist tightly.
Not for revenge.
To save Otoha.
In that moment, Tooru found a new purpose for the first time.
Starting the next day, Tooru's rehabilitation began.
Living with only one arm was far more difficult than he had imagined.
Brushing his teeth, changing his clothes, eating—all of it.
Everything that had once come naturally now refused to cooperate.
"Damn it..."
Tooru dropped the chopsticks he couldn't grip properly onto the floor.
"Are you okay? Let me do it."
Tomoe came to his room every day.
From helping him eat to accompanying him through rehabilitation, she devotedly took care of him.
"No, I'll do it myself. ...I have to be able to do at least this much."
Tooru picked up the chopsticks with only his right hand, in place of his left.
"...Don't push yourself. You just got out of the hospital."
Tomoe watched his hands anxiously.
"If I don't push myself, I'll never make progress."
Tooru tried again to pick up food with the chopsticks.
But it wouldn't work.
"...Hah."
Tooru let out a deep sigh.
"...Hey, Tooru."
Tomoe sat down beside him.
"You try to do everything by yourself too much. ...Lean on me a little."
Tomoe took the chopsticks from his hand, picked up some food, and brought it to his mouth.
"...Hey, Tomoe."
Tooru was flustered.
"Just eat. ...Say ahh."
With a serious expression, Tomoe brought the food to his mouth.
Tooru gave in and opened his mouth.
"...How is it? Good?"
"...Yeah. ...It's good."
Tooru answered, embarrassed.
Tomoe smiled happily.
"Good. ...You have to eat properly, or you won't get your strength back."
Tomoe brought food to his mouth again.
As Tooru let her feed him, he thought:
I never imagined the day would come when she'd fuss over me like this.
It's embarrassing.
But strangely, I don't mind it.
Several days later.
Tooru was doing rehabilitation in the hospital courtyard.
Training to manifest his Shield with only his right arm.
"...Hn!"
Tooru focused his mind.
Pale blue light gathered before his right arm, taking the shape of a Shield.
But it scattered almost immediately.
"...Still not stable, huh."
Tooru wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"It's no wonder. A Blaze is linked to your mental state. Your heart is still unstable."
Tomoe stood beside him.
"...I know. But if I don't do this, I can't get stronger."
Tooru tried to manifest his Shield again.
"...I'll be your target."
Tomoe suddenly said.
"...Huh?"
Tooru looked at her.
"I'll catch your Shield with my chains. ...Don't hold back. Hit me with everything."
Tomoe manifested her chains in both hands.
Black, hard chains extended from her hands.
"Tomoe, what are you talking about? That's dangerous."
"It's fine. My chains exist to catch your Shield."
Tomoe smiled brightly.
"...You really are reckless."
Tooru smiled wryly.
"I don't want to hear that from you. ...Come on, bring it."
Tomoe readied her chains.
Tooru took a deep breath.
To protect.
Tooru focused his awareness into his right arm.
To save Otoha.
To protect Tomoe.
For that, he would become stronger.
"...UOOOOOH!!"
Tooru thrust out his right arm.
Pale blue light exploded outward.
The Shield manifested.
Clearer and more powerful than ever before.
"...! Tooru, amazing!"
Tomoe cheered.
Tooru drove the Shield toward her.
CLANG!!
Shield and chains clashed violently.
Sparks flew.
"...Not yet!"
Tomoe manipulated her chains, striking Tooru's Shield again and again.
Tooru desperately caught each attack with his Shield.
Tomoe's chains were heavier than they looked.
But the Shield didn't break.
"...Your Shield feels warmer than before."
Tomoe murmured during the training.
"...Warmer?"
Tooru stared at his Shield.
His Shield, radiating pale blue light.
"Yeah. ...It feels somehow reassuring. When I touch your Shield."
Tomoe said that and smiled.
Tooru placed his hand over his own chest.
Something was definitely different from before.
The Shield he had once made from nothing but revenge.
Now it was being made for something he wanted to protect.
In that moment, Tooru clearly recognized that the meaning of his fighting had changed.
During a break in rehabilitation.
Tooru was alone with Tomoe in his hospital room.
"...Hey, Tomoe."
Tooru broached the subject.
"What?"
Tomoe looked up.
"...It's about Miyabi."
Tooru continued,
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