CHAPTER 30: GATE ALERT: GRADE BETA...

Rina’s lips crashed against his, and her tongue immediately pushed into his mouth with desperate aggression. It wasn’t gentle or romantic; it was claiming. Ownership.

Akira responded instinctively, one hand sliding to her waist, the other tangling in her hair. He angled her head, deepening the kiss, making it absolutely unmistakable what this was.

Around them, students gasped. Phones came out immediately, capturing the moment.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Rina kept her arms around Akira’s neck. She looked over at Kenji with a smile that could cut glass.

"Charitable?" she said sweetly. "No, Kenji. Just satisfied. Finally."

Kenji’s face went through several shades of red before settling on purple. His jaw clenched so hard Akira could hear his teeth grinding. "You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Him? You’re dating him?"

"Problem with that?" Akira asked calmly, keeping his arm around Rina.

"Yeah, there’s a problem!" Kenji stepped forward, his fists clenched. His new girlfriend grabbed his arm, but he shook her off. "You think you can just take my girl and..."

"Your girl?" Rina cut him off with an icy tone. "You dumped me, remember? Over text. I mean, which guy does that? Oh, you. You called me vanilla, said I was boring. So I upgraded. Turns out Akira knows exactly what he’s doing."

The implication hung in the air like a bomb.

Kenji’s face contorted with rage. "Stay away from my girl, Creep King," he snarled, stepping right into Akira’s space. "Or you’ll regret it. That’s not a threat; it’s a promise."

This was the moment. The old Akira would have backed down, apologised, and run away. But the old Akira was dead.

Akira held Rina tighter, meeting Kenji’s eyes directly. He let his Aura of Power flow outward in a subtle but undeniable way. It wasn’t aggressive, just a present pressure that said, ’I’m not afraid of you anymore.’

"You want to make this a thing?" Akira asked quietly. "Right here, right now, in front of everyone?"

Kenji hesitated.

Something in Akira’s eyes, in his stance, in the energy radiating from him... it made him pause. This wasn’t the pathetic loser he’d tormented for years. Something big had changed.

The silence stretched. Students watched with bated breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Finally, Kenji took a step back; his face was still red, but his confidence was shaken. "This isn’t over, Kanzaki. Not even close."

"Whenever you’re ready," Akira said evenly.

Kenji grabbed his new girlfriend’s hand and stormed off, his crew following awkwardly behind. The crowd erupted into whispers and excited chatter.

Rina turned to Akira with a bright, satisfied look in her eyes. "Holy shit. That was perfect. Did you see his face?"

[CHOICE B EXECUTED]

[REWARD: +60 PERV-POINTS]

[RINA KAGEYAMA ROUTE UNLOCKED: "THE VINDICTIVE ALLY"]

[CURRENT PP: 505 → 565]

[WARNING: KENJI TAKAHARA HOSTILITY: CRITICAL]

"Yeah, I saw it," Akira said, a smile tugging at his lips. The revenge felt good... really good.

"Thank you," Rina said, squeezing his hand. "Seriously. I know this is fake, but thank you for making him feel as small as he made me feel."

"Who says it has to stay fake?" Akira found himself saying.

Rina looked at him, surprised. "Akira..."

Before she could respond, Akira’s vision suddenly flared with a red alert.

[GATE ALERT]

[NEW DIMENSIONAL TEAR DETECTED]

[LOCATION: DOWNTOWN - COMMERCIAL DISTRICT]

[CLASSIFICATION: GRADE BETA]

[ESTIMATED TIME TO FULL MANIFESTATION: 45 MINUTES]

Ai’s voice cut through his thoughts, urgent. "Darling, we have a problem. Another Gate just opened across town. Grade Beta this time, and from what I sense, I think it’s the Wandering Gate of before."

"Damn it," Akira muttered under his breath.

"What’s wrong?" Rina asked, noticing his expression change.

"Nothing. Just... I have to go. Something came up."

"Again? Akira, we just..."

"I’m sorry. I’ll text you later, okay?" He started backing away. "This was great. Really. But I have to go right now."

Rina looked hurt and confused, but nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Sure."

Akira turned and walked towards the school gates, thinking about what was ahead. Another gate. More people in danger. Ayaka had told him that these things were happening more often and getting worse.

As he reached the gates, a familiar figure stepped out from the shadows. Ayaka, still in her school uniform but with her tactical bag slung over one shoulder. Her silver hair caught the afternoon light, and her expression was deadly serious.

"You felt it too," she said. It wasn’t a question.

"Grade Beta. Downtown."

"We need to move. Now." She glanced back at the school. "Your little display with the cheerleader was entertaining, but we have more important things to deal with."

"You were watching?"

"Anywhere there’s a desire to feed off on, count me in."

"That’s... creepy."

Ayaka studied his face for a moment. "You’re getting better at this. The dominance, the control. But don’t let the school drama distract you from the real threats. People are dying, Akira-kun."

"I know," he repeated, more firmly this time.

She nodded, then started walking. After a few steps, she looked back over her shoulder with one eyebrow raised.

"Shall we?"