Ex-Demon Lord & Ex-Hero's Reincarnation Rom-Com: How Did This Happen!? School is a Battlefield～ - Ex-Four Heavenly Kings, Calling Him "Bro" and Going on a Rampage

The morning sun streaming through the classroom window was painfully bright. Asakura Taiyou sat at his desk, textbook open, staring blankly into space. The conversation he'd had with Mitsuki in the empty classroom after school yesterday was still spinning around in his head. *(Mitsuki has memories of her past life too, huh...)* The Hero Alice. The one he'd fought as the Demon Lord Satanas, the one he'd killed and been killed by. Her reincarnation was in the same class, sitting at the desk right next to him. It was unbelievable. But it was reality. The classroom door slid open with a clatter. Kujou Mitsuki walked in. Her waist-length black hair caught the morning light, shimmering with a faint blue tint. Her narrow, violet eyes swept across the classroom. The usual cool Mitsuki. But the moment their eyes met, her cheeks turned just the slightest shade of pink. "...Morning, Asakura-kun." Mitsuki said it curtly and immediately looked away. "M-Morning!" His voice cracked. His heart started pounding, loud and fast. Remembering her smile in yesterday's sunset, he couldn't get the words out properly. Taiyou hurriedly grabbed his textbook, but his hands slipped and it tumbled to the floor with a flutter of pages. "Pfft..." Mitsuki let out a tiny snort. She went back to a straight face right away, but her shoulders were still shaking. *(Oh no, that's cute.)* Taiyou's ears burned red as he bent down to pick up his fallen textbook. In his haste, the eraser on his desk rolled off and plopped right into the gap between the desks. "Whoa there, Taiyou. What're you doing?" His classmate Shouta called out to him, laughing. "N-Nothing!" "Ever since Kujou-san got here, you've been acting super suspicious. What's up?" "I-I'm totally normal!" Taiyou denied it desperately, but when he glanced at Mitsuki, her hands were trembling slightly as she took out her textbook too. *(Maybe Mitsuki's actually nervous too.)* Thinking that made him feel just a little bit better. But it was only a brief respite. --- First period break. The chime rang, and the classroom was just starting to buzz with noise. "ANIKIIIIIII!!!" A loud, wailing voice echoed from the hallway. Every student in the classroom turned toward the sound at once. Taiyou looked up in surprise too. "Wh-What the!?" Someone was running down the hallway with incredible force. *BAM BAM BAM!!* The classroom door burst open. Standing there was a huge man with blazing red hair slicked back. He had to be at least 185 centimeters tall. His golden eyes blazed like a wild mountain cat's, and there was a faint old scar on his left cheek. His uniform tie was half undone, and his shirt was unbuttoned all the way at the top. His face was a mess of tears and snot, and the moment he scanned the classroom and spotted Taiyou, he shouted even louder. "Aniki! It's Aniki! I knew it was you, Aniki!!" Enjou Retsuto, from the class next door. Taiyou had heard rumors that he was a wild, popular delinquent type. But why was this guy calling *him* Aniki? Before he could even think about it, Retsuto launched himself at Taiyou in a full-body tackle. *SLAM!!* "Guhah!" The impact sent him toppling backward, chair and all. "Aniki! Aniki! It's me! Retsuto! Granbelt of the Blazing Prison! I was one of your Four Heavenly Kings! You remember, right!?" Straddling Taiyou, Retsuto was bawling his eyes out. Tears and snot dripped onto Taiyou's uniform. "W-Wait, hold on! Stop it, Retsuto, this is Japan! No, this is school! Get off me!" Taiyou tried desperately to push Retsuto away, but he wouldn't budge. He was way too strong. The two of them tumbled out into the hallway, tangled together. "Whoa, what's going on!?" "Enjou just tackled Asakura!" "Get it on video! Start recording!" The hallway erupted into chaos as students whipped out their phones all at once. Crushed under Retsuto's weight, Taiyou shouted desperately. "P-People are gonna get the wrong idea! I said stop it!" "But Aniki! My past life memories suddenly came back yesterday! I've been looking for your class all morning! I wanted to see you! I wanted to see you so bad I could die!" Retsuto looked down at Taiyou with bloodshot eyes and hugged him even tighter. "It's so nostalgic, Aniki! This magical power wavelength! There's no mistake, it's the Demon Lord Satanas! I'm just so happy, so happy!" "H-Hey, your voice is too loud! And I said get off!" --- That was when it happened. "...What are you doing, Asakura-kun?" A cold voice fell from above him. Looking up, Mitsuki had come out of the classroom and was standing there with her arms crossed. Her violet eyes were glaring down at Taiyou and Retsuto. Her expression was her usual cool one, but her temple was twitching. "Ah, Mitsuki! This isn't what it looks like! This guy just—!" The moment Taiyou tried to make excuses, Retsuto looked at Mitsuki's face and his expression lit up. "Ah! You're the Hero Alice! If you're next to Aniki, then that means—!" "...Hah?" Mitsuki's eyes narrowed. "If you're Aniki's woman, then I've gotta protect you this time around!" Retsuto shouted that with a completely innocent smile. The entire classroom went dead silent. The next moment. "Wh-Who's *his* woman!!!" Mitsuki's face turned bright red in an instant. The cool, brilliant beauty glared at Retsuto with a demonic expression. "You muscle-brained idiot! Don't just say whatever you want!? I'm just his classmate! Nothing more, nothing less!" "Muscle-brained!? I am Granbelt of the Blazing Prison, one of the Four Heavenly Kings! I'm not muscle-brained!" Retsuto stood up, offended. "Treating someone as Aniki's woman without permission—what kind of Heavenly King does that!? Your past life and now are different! You anachronism!" "Anachronism!? I've sworn my loyalty for you and Aniki—!" "I don't need you to do anything for me! And do you even realize you're causing trouble for Asakura-kun!?" "What's it to you!? I'm talking to Aniki!" "It *is* something to me! You're bothering *me*!" The two of them started arguing in the hallway. It had an incredible intensity, almost reminiscent of their battles in their past lives. But the content was purely an elementary schooler's squabble. The surrounding students were thrilled by the sudden battlefield between two popular kids. "Whoa! Kujou-san's angry!" "Is this a love triangle!? It's a battlefield!" "Asakura, you're super popular, huh!" "No, no, no! It's all wrong!" Taiyou stood up, desperately denying it while trying to pull the two of them apart. "Retsuto, calm down! Mitsuki, don't get so mad!" The moment Taiyou put his hand on Retsuto's shoulder and stepped between him and Mitsuki— "Aniki, be quiet!" "Aniki, stay out of this!" Elbows flew at him from both sides. *Thud.* *Wham.* "Guhh..." A heavy blow to the solar plexus and the ribs at the same time. Taiyou crumpled to the spot without a sound. "Ah, Asakura-kun!?" "Aniki!? Sorry!" Both of them crouched down at the same time. "This is your fault!" "Your elbow hit him too, didn't it!" "I was just trying to stop you!" Enduring the pain, Taiyou thought in his fading consciousness. *(...Why do I have to go through this?)* --- After school. Jonathan's, a family restaurant in front of Hoshigaoka Station. Taiyou slumped over the table with his utterly exhausted body. Retsuto sat across from him, and for some reason, Mitsuki was next to him. She seemed to have come along reluctantly, staring out the window the whole time. "Aniki! Can I eat anything I want here!? This place is amazing!" Retsuto's eyes sparkled as he looked at the menu. As if the earlier commotion had been a lie, he was now like an innocent child. "Go ahead... I'm already exhausted..." At Taiyou's words, Retsuto ordered a massive amount of hamburg steak, fried chicken, and omurice. "...How can you eat that much?" Mitsuki ordered only an iced coffee and was observing Retsuto intently. "Of course I can! A warrior can't fight without eating!" "This isn't a battlefield, you know." "No, it's a battlefield. Every day at this school is a battle." Stuffing his face with fried chicken, Retsuto suddenly turned serious. "You know, Aniki picked me up. In our past life." "Huh?" When Taiyou looked up, Retsuto was gazing at the sunset outside the window. His golden eyes narrowed as if looking into the distance. "I was a demon orphan. No parents, no comrades. I was just strong, but I had no use for that strength. That's when Aniki called out to me. 'Become one of my Four Heavenly Kings,' he said." Cutting his hamburg steak with a knife, Retsuto continued. "Aniki gave me a place to belong. Gave me a reason to use my strength. So this time, I want to protect Aniki. Because I couldn't protect you in our past life." Another tear spilled over. But unlike the wailing from this morning, it was a quiet, warm tear. "...Retsuto." A warmth spread deep in Taiyou's chest. The memories of his past life were heavy. His self as the Demon Lord was a demon who had taken countless lives. But to Retsuto, he had been a savior. "And so, Hero." Retsuto turned toward Mitsuki. "I'm not Alice." "I know. You're Kujou Mitsuki now. But I'll acknowledge you." "...What?" "Aniki was your enemy in your past life. That hasn't changed. But it's different now, right? Aniki is Aniki, and you are you. Judging people in the present based only on their past lives is wrong." Retsuto's words were very clumsy. But they were straightforward, without any lies. "So let's get along from now on. If you're gonna be by Aniki's side, you're my comrade too." Mitsuki said nothing. She just stared out the window, silent, with a complicated expression. Her violet eyes wavered faintly. *(Retsuto really hasn't changed at all.)* Taiyou couldn't help but smile. Retsuto had been like this in their past life too. Straightforward, a bit of an idiot, but a man who cared about his comrades more than anyone. Even though he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Taiyou felt that Retsuto had been the one who wished most for peace after the war ended. "...I'm not your woman." Suddenly, Mitsuki stood up. "Huh?" "I said it earlier too, but I'm just his classmate. Any more misunderstandings than this would be a nuisance." Leaving those words behind, Mitsuki paid for her share at the register and quickly left the restaurant. "Ah, wait, Mitsuki!" Taiyou tried to call her back, but Mitsuki didn't turn around. "Hehe, she's just embarrassed, Aniki." "N-No, that's not it! Mitsuki really doesn't think of me as..." "Aniki, love is war." "Hah!?" "In our past life, you couldn't defeat the Hero Alice. But the battlefield now is love. If your opponent is Mitsuki, there's no choice but a frontal assault!" Retsuto confidently gave a thumbs-up. At the completely off-the-mark advice, all the strength drained out of Taiyou. "...Pfft, fuhahaha!" Laughter bubbled up and he couldn't stop it. Today had been a terrible day. Because of Retsuto, he'd rolled around the hallway, gotten yelled at by Mitsuki, and taken elbows from both of them. But even so. *(Maybe the bonds from my past life aren't so bad.)* Taiyou thought that. Retsuto's existence might become the first support for him, struggling with the memories of his past life. Outside, it was completely dark. Lights were beginning to flicker on here and there in the town of Hoshigaoka. "Alright, Aniki! Special training starts tomorrow! Love training!" "I told you, that kind of thing is fine!" Laughing, Taiyou put the last bite of omurice into his mouth. It had gone cold, but somehow it tasted really good. --- They left the restaurant and walked together toward the station. The night breeze felt good. From the direction of Hotaru River, they could hear the murmur of the stream. "Hey, Retsuto." "What is it, Aniki!" "I still haven't really sorted out everything ab

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Episode 2

Name: Ex-Demon Lord & Ex-Hero's Reincarnation Rom-Com: How Did This Happen!? School is a Battlefield～
Author: Novelia

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