Chiba Academy, Kendo Club.
Ren Amamiya and Hokushin Mei stood facing each other, each holding a practice bamboo sword (shinai). The moment their eyes met, they simultaneously charged, swinging their shinai.
The techniques of Hokushin Ittō-ryū were displayed with exquisite skill by both. The bamboo swords cut through the air, tracing arcs that possessed both power and beauty, whistling sharply as they displaced the air.
Clack, clack, clack! The crisp sound of bamboo striking bamboo echoed continuously.
At first, Mei managed to maintain a tense stalemate with Ren.
But as Ren gradually increased his strength and speed, Mei quickly began to struggle. A flush from the intense exertion appeared on her fair cheeks, her chest heaved, and beads of sweat dotted her pristine forehead.
The force behind Ren's strikes felt like relentless, crashing waves against her shinai. In just a short time, she reached the absolute limit of her ability to parry.
After barely blocking another strike aimed at her wrist, Mei felt a sudden numbness in the webbing of her thumb. The fierce impact traveling through the bamboo forced the shinai she should have gripped tightly to fly from her hand, clattering into a corner of the kendo dojo floor.
Staring blankly at the shinai that had been forcibly knocked from her grasp, Hokushin Mei gently rubbed her still-numb wrist, a complex smile slowly appearing on her delicate face.
"...Ren-kun, your progress is truly divine. In less than a week, you've cultivated the Hokushin Ittō-ryū to such a pinnacle. Even I am no longer your match."
She spoke with genuine congratulation, yet also with a hint of reluctance at being defeated so easily.
"It's all thanks to Mei-senpai's excellent guidance. Without your careful instruction, I definitely couldn't have mastered the Hokushin Ittō-ryū techniques so quickly."
Ren retracted his shinai. He walked to the wall, bent down to pick up the discarded shinai from the corner, and personally handed it back to Hokushin Mei.
"Ren-kun, you're too modest..."
Hokushin Mei shook her head gently. While she had diligently taught Ren the sword techniques, his ability to master Hokushin Ittō-ryū to such a peak—even surpassing her, his teacher—in such a short time was entirely due to his own extraordinary talent.
Hokushin Mei's physique had always been far superior to her peers since childhood, showing potential even before she learned swordsmanship. After mastering her family's art, she became like a mini-superwoman, exceptionally skilled, capable of easily overpowering an adult man through sheer physical prowess alone.
But Ren Amamiya's physical abilities were even more outrageous than hers.
When they first met, it wasn't so bad; Ren's physical stats were roughly comparable to hers.
But as Mei spent more time with Ren, she was stunned to find his physical abilities improving practically day by day. Every couple of days, it felt like he underwent another growth spurt, becoming significantly stronger, making it increasingly difficult for her to keep up.
Just yesterday, she could barely manage. But seeing him again today, Mei numbly realized Ren's physical stats had skyrocketed again.
Now, even utilizing her full speed, strength, experience, and technique, she couldn't faze Ren in the slightest. Instead, she found herself consistently pushed onto the defensive from beginning to end.
"...Anyway, let's eat first! It's been a whole morning, and we had an intense practice session. Ren-kun must be hungry now!"
As if trying to clear the jumbled thoughts from her mind, Hokushin Mei lightly patted her cheeks. A gentle smile, tinged with shyness, bloomed on her face as she spoke proactively to Ren.
It was currently lunchtime at Chiba Academy. Ren, as usual, met Hokushin Mei in the deserted kendo club.
"Ren-kun, just eating bread for lunch all the time isn't very nutritious. I've been learning to cook recently. If you don't mind, would you be willing to try the bento I brought?"
After their kendo practice, a genuine blush colored Hokushin Mei's fair cheeks. She retrieved the pink bento box she had deliberately placed in an inconspicuous corner and, with a nervous heart, held it out to Ren with both hands.
Making a bento for a handsome Kohai schoolmate felt undeniably intimate, but Hokushin Mei genuinely wanted to do something for Ren, who had been keeping her company.
"I-I don't have many friends at school. The only person who can taste my cooking and give me feedback is you, Ren-kun!"
A slightly flustered look appeared in Mei's amethyst eyes. Her gaze darted around, avoiding direct eye contact with Ren, as she offered this somewhat awkward excuse.
Besides Ren, Hokushin Mei did have another friend at Chiba Academy: Kiana.
But Kiana's taste buds seemed broken. No matter what Mei cooked for her, Kiana would just grin foolishly, devour everything, and praise it effusively.
Even the burnt, failed dishes Mei produced when she first started learning to cook, Kiana could eat without batting an eye. (like pig)
From that perspective, Kiana really couldn't offer any useful feedback on the taste of the food.
Fortunately, Kiana's reactions did give Mei a confidence boost. Combined with her apparent natural talent for cooking, after a period of practice, Mei could now prepare dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted great—meals she could proudly offer to others.
In fact, Mei had wanted to present her lovingly made bento to Ren for tasting during yesterday's lunch break.
But Kiana's sense of smell was too sharp. After finishing the large portion Mei had made for her, Kiana sniffed out the bento Mei had prepared for Ren. Mistaking it for another serving for herself, Kiana, despite her already full stomach, happily gobbled down Ren's entire bento.
Of course, Mei felt too awkward to tell the mistaken Kiana the truth—that the bento she'd just eaten was actually for a handsome, kind, and thoughtful Kohai—so she could only watch with a helpless smile as Kiana polished off the whole thing.
Normally, Mei shouldn't hide Ren's existence from Kiana. But her friend Kiana was... a little unusual.
Because Kiana... liked girls.
And the girl Kiana liked happened to be Mei herself.
Kiana was completely devoted and obedient when it came to Mei, but could be quite willful and demanding with others.
If Kiana found out about Ren, her personality guaranteed she would jump on him and cause a huge scene. Moreover, it would definitely expose Mei's true identity as "Raiden Mei" to Ren.
Soo...
Gomen ne Kiana~
Kiana liked girls, but "Hokushin" Mei liked boys.
To maintain her relationship with Ren, Mei could only silently apologize to Kiana in her heart and resolve to introduce Ren to Kiana properly at some point in the future.
Luckily, Kiana had skipped school today, rushing off after hearing another rumored sighting of her father, otherwise Mei wasn't sure she could have successfully delivered the bento to Ren.
"A bento? Thank you very much, Mei-senpai. I'll be sure to savor your cooking."
Seeing the lovingly prepared bento offered to him, Ren's eyes lit up slightly.
Getting a bento was certainly better than gnawing on store-bought bread, especially when the bento was made by a beautiful upperclassman like Hokushin Mei.
If he weren't actually hungry, Ren might have even considered taking the bento into Mementos to see what effects Mei's cooking could grant him.
Accepting the bento from Mei, Ren untied the pink cloth wrapping it. He felt a pleasant warmth radiating from the bento box in his palm.
Clearly, before Ren arrived at the kendo club, Mei had thoughtfully reheated the bento.
Opening the lid, a wave of fragrant steam rushed out. Perfectly cooked, plump white rice, golden tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), evenly cut fried chicken pieces, fragrant grilled eel, vibrant green broccoli and bell peppers... various ingredients packed the bento box to the brim.
Ren could tell at a glance that Mei had put a lot of effort and sincerity into this bento.
He was hungry.
"Speaking of which, I have a gift I wanted to give Mei-senpai too... Don't worry, it's nothing expensive, so please don't refuse, Senpai. If you really don't like it, you can just quietly throw it away later, it's okay."
Anticipating Mei's habitual tendency to politely decline, Ren cut off her potential refusal route. He reached into his pocket, retrieved the gift, and held it out to Mei in his palm.
Chiba Academy was a prestigious school. Ren could see Mei came from a well-mannered background; her family environment was likely extremely affluent.
Expensive gifts might work fine for ordinary girls, surprising them, but for a true young lady like "Hokushin" Mei, she might already be accustomed to such costly presents, finding no novelty in them.
Besides, Ren spent most of his time exploring the great Mementos; he really didn't have much time to carefully select a gift for Mei.
Even this small gift was something Ren happened to see while buying bread for lunch at a convenience store. He thought it suited Mei and bought it on impulse.
"...A hairpin? But, why is it shaped like lightning?"
Staring at the blue-purple hairpin resting quietly in Ren's fair, slender hand, "Hokushin" Mei's expression became slightly unnatural. Her eyes subtly and carefully scanned Ren's face.
If it were just an ordinary hairpin, fine. But it specifically had the rounded, gentle shape of a lightning bolt.
This couldn't help but make the sensitive Hokushin Mei's mind race with possibilities.
"Because I felt it would really suit you, Senpai. So I bought it."
(Actually, it was because Shadow Mei often sparked with electricity when she appeared before, leaving Ren with the impression of a connection between Mei and lightning.)
(Plus, he was curious if the real Mei wearing this hairpin would cause the regal, queen-like Shadow Mei in the Palace to wear it simultaneously. He just wanted to test it out.)
(After all, Shadow Mei always maintained a cold, arrogant Thunder Queen image. If she wore this softly rounded little lightning bolt hairpin... the resulting contrast felt like it would be incredibly cute and worth seeing.)
"I-Is that so? That's good then... Thank you for picking out a gift for me, Ren-kun. I like it very much."
Hearing Ren's reply and confirming once more that there was no change in the way he looked at her, Hokushin Mei quietly breathed a sigh of relief. A bright smile spread across her fair face.
Her slender, soft fingers brushed lightly against Ren's palm as she took the small lightning hairpin. Mei carefully pinned the accessory into her lustrous, smooth purple hair.
"It looks great on you, Mei-senpai... Yeah, it really suits you."
Seeing Mei wear the lightning hairpin, Ren couldn't help but praise her, a satisfied smile curving his lips upwards.
Repeating the compliment twice had a clear meaning.
Ren got his wish: Shadow Mei appeared before him after Mei accepted the gift.
However, wearing the little lightning hairpin, Shadow Mei seemed even more socially awkward than before. Her delicate face was taut, a faint blush she couldn't quite suppress coloring her fair cheeks. She flickered into existence before Ren like a flash, staying for an even shorter, more fleeting moment than usual.
Fortunately, Ren already possessed dynamic vision surpassing even a ninja's, clearly capturing every nuance of Shadow Mei's reaction and posture in his eyes.
"Itadakimasu... Mm, gochisousama deshita." ["Time to eat... Mm, thank you for the meal."]
Although Ren didn't have the Japanese habit of saying "Itadakimasu" before every meal, to show politeness and respect to Hokushin Mei, a genuine Japanese girl, he followed the custom before digging in. He then heartily ate the bento, savoring the image of Shadow Mei's obvious shyness from moments before.
"Mm-hmm, this is delicious! Mei-senpai, you really have a talent for cooking!"
The moment the food entered his mouth, Ren's eyes lit up. His eating pace quickened noticeably as he praised Mei, who beamed with a satisfied smile.
Bzzzt.
Just as Ren was enjoying the bento Mei had lovingly made for him, his phone vibrated in his pocket, signaling an incoming text message.
Taking out his phone and opening it, the sender's name was a garbled string of data errors. The message content read...
[Be careful. Cocolia has lost patience and is preparing to forcefully capture Raiden Mei.]