CHAPTER 41: QUANTUM BLADE

After the exams were over, Haruto went back to his regular school routine like nothing had happened. The usual boring classes, the same old textbook droning, and teachers who looked like they’d rather be anywhere else. He was just spacing out during lunch break when some random kid from another class came up to him.

"Hey, you’re Haruto, right?" the guy said, looking nervous as hell. "Kazuma wants to see you."

Haruto raised an eyebrow. Kazuma? He barely knew the guy, just some acquaintance who hung around with the wrong crowd. What could he possibly want?

"Where?" Haruto asked, not really caring but curious enough to find out.

"Rooftop," the messenger said before quickly walking away, like he didn’t want to stick around for whatever was about to go down.

Great. The rooftop. That’s where all the dramatic anime confrontations happened, wasn’t it? Haruto sighed and made his way up the stairs, each step echoing in the empty stairwell. The afternoon sun was beating down pretty hard when he pushed open the heavy metal door to the roof.

But it wasn’t just Kazuma waiting for him.

Ryouta was there too, leaning casually against the chain-link fence with that same cocky smirk he always wore. The guy looked like he’d stepped straight out of some delinquent manga - messy hair, uniform worn just loose enough to look rebellious, and an attitude that screamed trouble.

"Well, well," Ryouta said, pushing himself off the fence. "Look who finally decided to show up."

Kazuma looked uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot like he wanted to be anywhere else. "Ryouta, maybe we should—"

"Shut up, Kazuma," Ryouta cut him off without even looking at him. His eyes were locked on Haruto. "This is between me and our friend here."

Haruto crossed his arms and tried to look more confident than he felt. "What do you want, Ryouta? I don’t have time for whatever this is."

Ryouta’s grin widened, and there was something nasty in it. "Time? Oh, you’re gonna have plenty of time for this, trust me." He started walking closer, hands stuffed in his pockets. "You know, I was just trying to have a little fun the other day. Nothing serious, just messing around. But you had to go and make me look like an idiot in front of everyone."

"I didn’t do anything to you," Haruto said, though he had a pretty good idea what Ryouta was talking about.

"Didn’t do anything?" Ryouta laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. "You embarrassed me, made me look weak. And now I’m gonna return the favor, with interest."

That’s when another voice cut through the tension.

"If you’re planning on starting trouble, Ryouta, I’ll report you to your Butler myself."

Haruto turned to see Azame stepping through the rooftop door, her long black hair flowing behind her as she walked. She had that stern, no-nonsense expression she always wore when she was about to lay down the law. Even in the school uniform, she managed to look intimidating.

Ryouta just laughed louder. "Go ahead and report me, princess. See if I care." He turned to face her, that cocky grin never leaving his face. "Actually, I’d love to see what the old man would say about his precious little lady getting involved in school fights."

Azame’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think this is some kind of game?"

"Everything’s a game," Ryouta said with a shrug. "And I always win."

Haruto could see the wheels turning in Azame’s head. She was probably thinking about what Ryouta might be planning, trying to figure out if this was some kind of revenge plot. But then something changed in her expression - a flicker of curiosity, maybe even anticipation.

"Actually," she said, moving to lean against the wall where she’d have a good view of whatever was about to happen, "I’m curious to see just how strong you really are, Haruto."

Wait, what? Haruto stared at her. "You’re not going to stop this?"

Azame gave him a small smile that was somehow both encouraging and terrifying. "Consider it a test."

Great. Just great. Now he had to deal with Ryouta’s revenge plot AND Azame’s curiosity. This day just kept getting better and better.

Ryouta clapped his hands together slowly. "Perfect! An audience makes everything more fun." He reached into his jacket and pulled out what looked like a metal handle. "I was hoping I’d get to use this."

The handle suddenly came alive with crackling energy, and a blade of pure plasma materialized from the end. It wasn’t like any sword Haruto had ever seen - the blade was translucent blue-white energy that seemed to vibrate at an impossible frequency, making the air around it shimmer and distort.

Even Kazuma gasped. "Ryouta, where did you get that? I’ve never seen you with—"

"This," Ryouta said, admiring the weapon, "is the Quantum Blade of the Ashikaga family. Pretty impressive, right?" He gave the blade a few experimental swings, and Haruto could hear it humming through the air. "The plasma edge can emit quantum vibration waves at ultra-high frequencies. It doesn’t just cut through things - it breaks down molecular structures from the inside out. Causes massive internal damage without even needing to pierce the skin."

Azame’s eyes went wide with alarm. "Ryouta, you can’t use that! It’s too dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Ryouta’s grin turned predatory. "That’s the whole point."

Even Kazuma looked shocked. "Dude, I’ve known you for years and I’ve never seen this thing before. You’re really taking this seriously, aren’t you?"

Haruto felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn’t just some schoolyard fight anymore. Ryouta had brought out a weapon that could literally disintegrate him on a molecular level. The casual way he was handling it made it clear he wasn’t planning on holding back.

"So," Ryouta said, pointing the blade at Haruto, "ready to see what happens when you mess with the wrong person?"

Haruto took a deep breath and tried to center himself. He could feel that familiar warmth building in his chest,with the power. If Ryouta wanted to play with dangerous weapons, then fine. Two could play that game.