The following morning, the first rays of sunlight partially pierced through the curtains of Isagi’s room, softly illuminating the space.
“Mmm…” He slowly opened his eyes, still drowsy with sleep.
For a few seconds, he remained staring silently at the ceiling, feeling his body heavy from the accumulated exhaustion of the previous day.
The memories of last night slowly passed through his mind.
After accompanying Alya home, he had still spent hours working on a few side projects to earn more money through the internet.
In fact… He couldn’t even remember the exact moment he had fallen asleep.
But that didn’t matter much right now.
Even though it was Sunday, Isagi had something important to do that day.
Today would be his first class at a dōjō that belonged to an old friend of his father.
So, Isagi simply stretched before finally getting out of bed.
After heading downstairs, he took a quick shower to fully wake himself up, changed into proper training clothes, and left home toward the dōjō.
The morning sun had barely reached the tops of the buildings when he arrived at a narrow street surrounded by cherry blossom trees still covered in green leaves.
Isagi stopped in front of a large dark wooden gate.
The simple sign hanging above the entrance bore firm and traditional calligraphy: “Seiryukan Dōjō.” It was one of the most renowned dōjōs in the entire Saitama Prefecture, famous for producing high-level athletes and fighters in different martial arts.
The place was not limited to a single combat style; boxing, karate, judo, kendō, aikidō, and several other disciplines were taught there.
Isagi took a deep breath and pushed open the wooden gate, which creaked softly as it opened.
The inside of the dōjō was spacious and well maintained, with immaculate tatami mats covering the main floor and dark wooden walls.
At the center of the hall, a tall, solidly built middle-aged man watched two students training.
His hair was almost completely white, yet his posture remained straight and imposing, like that of a warrior still in his prime.
As soon as Isagi entered, the man turned toward him.
A broad nostalgic smile appeared on his face.
“Well, well… if it isn’t Issei’s son!!” he exclaimed with a deep and powerful voice.
“You’ve grown a lot, huh, kid!” Isagi gave a respectful bow.
“Good morning, Ojisan.
It really has been a while.
Sorry for showing up so suddenly…” The man let out a loud laugh and approached him, giving him a firm slap on the shoulder.
“Hahaha!
Your father already told me you were coming.
He said you were interested in training martial arts…” As they spoke, a young man around Isagi’s age came out of a side room, wiping the sweat off his face with a towel.
He was tall, with short brown hair and sharp eyes.
“Dad, who’s this?” the young man asked curiously.
The older man placed a large hand on his son’s shoulder and pulled him forward.
“This is Isagi Yoichi.
The son of an old friend of mine.
You two are about the same age.
Isagi, this is my son, Renji.
He’s been training here since he was five and is one of the best in his age group…” Renji extended his hand with a confident smile.
“Nice to meet you, Isagi-san… I can call you that, right?” Isagi shook his hand firmly.
“Nice to meet you too.
Feel free…” After settling the details, schedules, symbolic tuition fee (the old dōjō master refused to charge the normal amount because of his friendship with Isagi’s father), and the type of training he was looking for, the older man clapped his hands.
“Very well!
Then let’s start right away.
Renji, you’ll help demonstrate the fundamentals.” The training started light, but progressive.
That was when his [Perfect Copy] ability came into play.
Renji demonstrated a movement, a simple straight punch, only once.
Isagi observed attentively, and when he tried to execute the movement, he literally copied Renji perfectly… “Hey… wait a second…” Renji murmured, frowning in disbelief.
“You… have you trained this before?” “No…” Isagi answered calmly, adjusting his stance.
“This is my first time.” The old dōjō master, who had been observing from afar, narrowed his eyes.
He instructed Renji to demonstrate a more complex judo combination, a sequence involving off-balancing, projection, and immobilization.
Isagi executed the entire sequence perfectly, with timing, strength, and angles extremely close to the original!
The silence that followed was heavy.
Renji stood there dumbfounded.
“…That’s impossible.
It took me almost three months to properly learn that sequence.” The old dōjō master crossed his arms, his gaze now serious and evaluative.
“Boy… is this really your first time practicing martial arts?” Isagi merely smiled modestly, though his eyes gleamed with excitement.
“I learn fast.” In truth, it was terrifying.
Everything he saw even once was recorded, analyzed, and reproduced with frightening precision.
Tiny adjustments were automatically made in his mind, posture correction, weight distribution, breathing, striking angles.
It was as if his body had activated a perfect “recording mode.” After only an hour and a half of basic training, Isagi was already performing intermediate-level movements from three different styles with a quality that would make many intermediate students jealous.
When training finally ended, Isagi said goodbye to the old master before leaving Seiryukan Dōjō.
As soon as he stepped through the main gate, he slowly stretched, letting out a sigh as he breathed in the warm morning air.
Instead of heading straight home, he decided to take a walk.
He walked several blocks, passing cafés and small shops, until a colorful storefront caught his attention: an otaku store.
Anime posters decorated the windows, action figures gleamed under the artificial lights, and even cosplay outfits were displayed on mannequins.
He thought about entering, but something else caught his attention.
A little farther ahead, near the entrance of the store, stood .
Even in casual clothes, she stood out from afar, short plaid skirt, pink anime-print shirt, backpack covered in dangling keychains.
She gestured while trying to move away from two guys blocking her path.
“Hey, no need to rush, pretty girl.
We just wanna talk…” one of them said with a crooked smile.
“Yeah, let’s exchange Line IDs.
You like cosplay, right?
We could help you take some much more… private photos,” the other added, leaning in way too close.
Marin took a step back, her eyes widening.
She tried to maintain a firm tone, but she was clearly uncomfortable.
“I already said I’m not interested.
Seriously, get out of my way.” The guys laughed, ignoring the warning.
That was when Isagi frowned.
He obviously wasn’t about to let a couple of guys harass a girl, especially when that girl was someone he knew from school… Within a few steps, he was standing beside them.
“Is there a problem here?” His voice came out low and firm, yet filled with authority.
The two guys turned toward him, surprised.
Marin blinked as she recognized him.
“Isagi…-kun?” she said almost in shock, as if she hadn’t expected to see him there.
One of the boys laughed mockingly.
“And who the hell are you?
Her boyfriend?
Mind your own business.” Isagi didn’t answer immediately.
He simply stared at them, cold eyes, straight posture.
His mere presence was enough to make the atmosphere heavy.
“She told you to leave.
So leave.” The silence stretched for a second.
People passing by started noticing, slowing down to watch.
The two boys hesitated.
Maybe it was because of Isagi’s unwavering gaze, or maybe because a small crowd was beginning to form.
They muttered something inaudible and reluctantly walked away.
Marin let out a loud sigh, almost laughing nervously.
“Uff… those guys seriously don’t know how to take no for an answer, huh?
What a pain!” She turned toward Isagi, her bright eyes shining as a sincere smile spread across her face.
“Thanks a lot, Isagi-kun!
You totally saved my Sunday!
And this is actually the first time something like this has happened to me!
Seriously, it was straight out of a manga, you know?
The hero showing up right at the perfect moment!
I was already thinking about kicking one of them, but it would’ve ruined my nails, and I literally just painted them, look!” As if they were old friends, she stretched out her hands to show off her pink glittery nails.
Since they both studied at Ichinan High School and shared classes as classmates, they had exchanged words here and there before, but they couldn’t exactly be called close friends.
He knew her well enough to not be surprised by the way she behaved.
If he had to describe her, Marin was someone who naturally stood out, loud, extravagant, and messy, the kind of person who rarely went unnoticed anywhere.
Despite being extravagant and messy, she was also kind and extremely outgoing.
She had no patience for people who judged others because of their hobbies, and she made that very clear whenever she noticed that kind of attitude.
At the same time, she was clumsy in various situations, which only reinforced her natural and approachable charm.
Isagi glanced briefly at her nails and answered simply: “…They’re pretty…” “Right?…” She widened her eyes in surprise before laughing loudly.
“Wow, you’re the first guy who actually looks at them and says that… Usually they don’t even notice stuff like this…” Isagi shrugged.
“You showed them to me, so I was just being honest.” “Hah!
Straight to the point, I like it.” Marin crossed her arms, satisfied, but quickly resumed talking nonstop.
“Anyway, seriously, thank you.
Those idiots were being super annoying.
I get seriously pissed off when people don’t understand the word ‘no.’ Like, hello?
I said it CLEARLY.
There’s no way to be clearer than that, right?” Isagi simply nodded.
“They don’t know how to listen…” “Exactly!” Marin raised her hand as if she had just won a game.
“Finally someone who gets it!” “But putting that aside…” She continued while looking at him.
“You suddenly show up, save the day, compliment my nails, and call them pretty… Seriously, Isagi-kun, I can’t just leave it at that.
I feel like you deserve at least some kind of reward…” Isagi raised an eyebrow.
“Reward?” “Yes!
Like… coffee, milkshake, anything!
It’s my moral obligation to thank you properly.
And it’s not like I thank people this way all the time, so you should feel lucky.” “You don’t have to, Kitagawa-san.
A simple thank you is enough…” Isagi shook his head with a smile.
Marin blinked, but didn’t let it go.
“Hey, hey!
Don’t dodge now, okay?
I insist!” she said with a wide playful smile.
“Besides, look at you.
You’re sweaty, tired… I think you deserve a break.
My treat!” “It’s not about money…” he replied calmly.
“I just don’t want to ruin your morning… Like you said, I’m all sweaty.
People will probably find it weird seeing the two of us together…” “Ahhh… you’re way too proper, Isagi-kun!” Marin lightly smacked his shoulder while laughing.
“That’s exactly why I need to drag you out for a drink.
Just think about it: the hero saves the damsel in distress, then they go get milkshakes afterward.
It’s like the perfect shoujo anime scene!” Isagi gave a faint smile and rolled his eyes.
“You didn’t have to dramatize it either…” “Dramatic?
Me?!” Marin pointed at herself and denied it immediately.
“Never!
I just wanna enjoy the moment, you know?
It’s rare for stuff like this to happen.
Besides… who knows when I’ll get another chance like this…” Then she paused, crossing her arms and glancing at him sideways with that mischievous smile.
“So, what do you say?
Interested?
I’ll pick the place, and I promise it’ll be fun.” Isagi remained silent for a few seconds.
In the end, he gave a small nod.
“All right, I’ll accept your invitation then… Shall we?” Marin’s face lit up with a huge smile, nearly jumping with excitement.
“Yes!
I knew you wouldn’t resist!
This is gonna be epic!” And so they walked off together, with her animatedly talking about random things, from cosplay to crazy anime theories, while he listened with a faint smile, barely realizing he was being dragged into a morning he had never expected.
_____________________ (A/N: First of all, thank you for reading this story.
Your support there also helps a lot in keeping the story updated consistently.
I hope you continue enjoying Isagi’s completely cursed new life in this crossover world.)