Miu quickly warmed up to the Hikigaya siblings.
Soon, they reached Yukino's door, which was already open.
"Sorry for intruding!" Takeru called out as they entered.
"Takeru-kun, Hachiman-kun, please come in. There are disposable slippers in the genkan!" Yukino, busy in the kitchen, could only call out from within.
"We'll take you up on that!" Takeru smiled, taking the prepared slippers. A few other pairs of shoes in the entryway indicated some guests had already arrived.
"Hey, Takeru! Miu! And Hachiman!" Ritsu, who had arrived earlier, greeted them cheerfully.
"Oh? Is that Hachiman-kun's sister? She doesn't look much like him!" Ritsu remarked with a smile upon seeing Komachi.
"Takeru, please have a seat. Here's some tea." Yukino soon brought out tea.
"Sorry to intrude!" Another voice soon came from the entrance… Umaru and Taihei.
"Please come in. There are slippers in the genkan." Yukino quickly went to greet them.
As time passed, Yukino's once-quiet home was now filled with fifteen people...
The Hirasawa sisters, Mio, Tsumugi and Ritsu, Takeru and Miu, the Hikigaya siblings, Umaru and Taihei, Yuuta, Rikka, Yumeha, and Sylphin. Everyone was present.
With the addition of Miu and the other younger siblings, they didn't directly discuss the Reincarnation Space. Instead, they socialized like a normal gathering, chatting and strengthening bonds.
However, they soon began conversing in veiled terms. Through these conversations, Takeru learned about everyone's gains from the previous world.
He also learned that some had participated in a highly dangerous bomb-based game. Hearing their description, Takeru was momentarily surprised, but upon realizing it was the world of Btooom!, he nodded in understanding.
He had some knowledge of that world. Hearing that Ritsu had nearly died there, he looked at her in astonishment. According to her account, if not for Mio's decisive action, she would have perished.
She only received treatment back in the Reincarnation Space, spending 500 points. This experience made her more acutely aware of death's shadow and deepened her cautious respect for the Reincarnation Space.
Mio and Sylphin had obtained several impact-detonation and timer-based bombs, meaning they could use these as support items in future missions. With proper use, they could yield significant advantages.
Later, Yukino began preparing lunch to host everyone. Seeing this, Takeru, Taihei, and Ui offered to help.
With their assistance, lunch was soon ready. Everyone gathered happily to enjoy the meal.
For some reason, Yumeha seemed to take a liking to Takeru, constantly pulling at him to play. Takeru simply smiled and indulged her.
This made Yuta feel a bit betrayed, as his own sister was clinging to someone else.
They continued enjoying themselves at Yukino's place until around 3:00 p.m. before starting to say their goodbyes.
"Onii-chan, I never knew you knew so many girls!" On the way back, Miu walked with her hands behind her back, speaking thoughtfully.
Glancing at her, Takeru simply nodded without comment.
"Onii-chan, you all really aren't ordinary people, are you? I overheard your conversation earlier. Even though it was veiled, I could tell!" Miu pressed further.
"Just pretend you didn't hear anything about that." Takeru replied seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Miu replied dismissively, though being sensible, she understood such matters shouldn't be discussed carelessly.
"So, Onii-chan, can I join you all someday?" Miu suddenly asked curiously.
"Why would you want to join? It's not some fun game." Takeru sighed, somewhat exasperated.
"It doesn't seem boring at all! It sounds super exciting!" Miu countered eagerly.
"Well, we'll see about that later." Takeru gently shook his head.
After chatting a bit more, Takeru and Miu didn't go elsewhere but headed straight home. With their new goals, both focused on training.
Takeru worked on developing Nen Abilities, while Miu practiced meditation to accelerate her Nen awakening.
…
A week passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing particularly special happened during these seven days. Takeru and Miu went to school as usual, chatted with friends, and participated in activities.
Progress on Nen Abilities was smooth. Hypnosis and control abilities were now usable, though the hypnotized or controlled individuals appeared somewhat dazed, requiring further refinement...
Additionally, the adaptation of [Hakoware] showed some promise and could be preliminarily used in combat, though it still lagged behind Knuckle's version in some aspects. For instance, the Nen Beast stopped calculating interest if the opponent moved beyond 100 meters.
The 'interest' was calculated based on stamina, accruing every ten seconds.
Furthermore, once an opponent 'went bankrupt', Takeru couldn't leave them completely without stamina… that wasn't realistic. However, he could make their stamina recovery continuously supplement his own for a period of three days.
This meant for the next three days, a portion of the opponent's recovered stamina would transfer to Takeru, leaving them highly prone to extreme fatigue.
Another limitation was that Takeru could currently only use this ability on one person at a time… only one [Collector] could exist.
To solve this, Takeru dedicated himself to further research. If he could find several individuals to continuously provide stamina, he would never lack it again.
Whether for training or combat, this was an incredibly powerful ability.
However, today, as Takeru was about to take Miu out for fun, emergency sirens blared. Clearly, something unusual had occurred in their area.
From the balcony, Takeru saw crowds frantically fleeing toward shelters. Although there had been drills before, when real disaster struck, panic was inevitable.
"Onii-chan, what should we do?" Miu looked at Takeru worriedly, watching the people scrambling below.
"It's alright. Just stay home and don't go anywhere." Seeing her concern, Takeru said after a moment's thought.
He then summoned five additional Shadow Persons, instructing them to protect Miu from all angles.
After this, Takeru sat on the floor, expanding his Observation Haki perception to its maximum.
Soon, every detail within a 600-meter radius centered on Takeru flooded his mind.
Screams and shouts overwhelmed his senses, causing significant discomfort.
However, relying on his strong mental fortitude, Takeru quickly filtered out the chaotic sensory input, searching for the source of danger.
He soon detected several enormous eagle-like creatures circling high above. One clutched a person in its talons, and the victim had only a breath left, struggling instinctively.
"Miu, stay inside!" Having identified the threat, Takeru quickly left the apartment and rushed to the rooftop. Using telekinesis to unlock the secured door, he looked up at the circling giant eagles.
They were currently quite distant. Takeru glanced at a taller adjacent apartment building.
Without hesitation, he first materialized several Nen Needles and inserted them into his own face. Instantly, his appearance transformed into that of another person.
This ability was something Takeru developed while practicing control techniques. Compared to controlling others, altering his own appearance was relatively simple.
With a new face, he donned a distinctive outfit. Then, with a powerful leap followed by a Geppo, he landed on the neighboring apartment building. Repeating this maneuver, he soon positioned himself directly beneath the giant eagles.
As Takeru arrived beneath them, one eagle immediately noticed him. With a fierce glare, it began a swift dive, aiming to seize him with its talons.