A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

"Don't worry, that gun isn't loaded with live ammunition, it's filled with rubber bullets."

"This……"

Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly, looking worried.

"So your so-called special training is fighting against Ashikaga-sensei who's armed with a gun? But you can't win bare-handed, can you?"

Before Asagiri could speak, Ashikaga Miwa said calmly.

"That's hard to say."

Ashikaga Miwa placed the camouflage-painted automatic rifle aside, then pulled the bolt of her pistol to release the safety. Looking at Asagiri, who was about ten meters away, she slowly spoke.

"A martial artist must be prepared to deal with all weapons. Firearms are weapons too. With honed skills and experience, one can overcome the differences in weaponry. This is one of the essential courses for a martial artist."

Upon hearing this, Asagiri chuckled lightly.

"You're almost fifty years old, how come you're still acting like a teenager?"

Ashikaga Miwa raised her hand to adjust her gold-rimmed glasses and slowly began to speak.

"I'm only thirty-eight this year, what do you mean I'm almost fifty..."

Just as Ashikaga Miwa was speaking, she saw Asagiri suddenly rushing towards the direction where she was standing.

Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately raised the gun in her hand, pointed the muzzle at Asagiri, and as she pulled the trigger, a smile involuntarily appeared on her usually serious face.

That's right, this is what a martial artist is.

Using any means necessary, even so-called despicable sneak attacks, is worthwhile as long as victory can be achieved and one can be the last one standing.

"boom!"

Just a second before Ashikaga Mikazu pulled the trigger, Asagiri, who was sprinting, suddenly shifted slightly to the side. The next second, a solid rubber bullet grazed his cheek.

"Hmm? Not bad judgment."

Ashikaga Miwa narrowed her eyes slightly, immediately aimed at Asagiri's chest, and pulled the trigger again.

This time, Asagiri dodged slightly, but the solid rubber bullet still hit him in the right chest near his shoulder.

"boom."

Just watching Asagiri get hit by a rubber bullet made Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato feel a dull ache in their chests.

Just when they thought that Asagiri would stop, they saw that she did not stop at all, and did not even make any sound of pain, as if she could not feel any pain at all, and continued to rush towards Ashikaga Miwa.

Before Ashikaga Miwa could pull the trigger again, Asagiri had already grabbed Ashikaga Miwa's wrist.

"Master Ashikaga, you've lost."

84

Chapter 84: Teammates and lovers.

Hearing Asagiri's smiling words, Ashikaga Miwa remained silent for a few seconds before releasing her grip, letting the black gun fall onto the wooden floor, and then said calmly.

"Yeah, I lost."

Meanwhile, Kato Megumi and Yuuki Asuna, who were not far away, looked at Asagiri standing there with a smile on her face, and their feelings couldn't help but become complicated.

Rubber bullets are just bullets with rubber heads, so they don't penetrate the human body like real bullets. However, their basic structure and firing speed are no different from real bullets. If you are hit at close range, you will still be at risk of injury or even death.

Just now... Asagiri was hit by a rubber bullet from a pistol at a distance of less than ten meters, but his movements did not stop for the slightest, as if he felt no pain at all.

Is this... really a human?

"You did a great job just now."

Ashikaga Miwa took two steps back, picked up the black pistol from the ground, and after re-engaging the safety, looked at Asagiri and said in a calm tone.

"When facing an enemy armed with firearms, you can't just rush forward blindly, as that will only result in being hit in a vital spot by a bullet and losing your ability to fight. But similarly, you can't panic and dodge because you're too afraid. After all, the faster you get close, the less time the enemy has to aim and fire."

"Predicting the bullet's trajectory, ensuring vital areas are not hit, and approaching the enemy as quickly as possible is indeed the most correct choice."

"only……"

Ashikaga Miwa raised her hand to adjust her glasses, looked directly into Asagiri's eyes, and slowly began to speak.

"Judging from your reaction, you seem to be quite familiar with the pain of being hit by a bullet, and even when a gun is pointed at you, you show no fear or panic. Have you... had a similar experience before?"

"Of course."

Asagiri replied with a nonchalant smile.

"Not to mention being hit by bullets, I was even shot dead by an automatic rifle once."

Ashikaga Miwa sighed slightly, looking somewhat helpless.

"You were shot once? So the one talking to me now is a ghost? Never mind, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it. Continue your special training."

What Ashikaga Miwa didn't know was that Asagiri wasn't joking with her; she was telling the truth.

A persona is a projection of the user's mind that resonates with the user's intentions.

In the previous instance, the Human Shura was shot and killed by the Black Watch squad with automatic rifles. In a sense, Asagiri, as a Persona user, did indeed feel as if he himself had been shot and killed through the Human Shura.

"Then, the next training session will be the second one."

Ashikaga Miwa put the black pistol aside and picked up the camouflage-painted automatic rifle instead. She looked at Asagiri and said noncommittally.

"Although I personally feel that this special training is meaningless compared to the one you just had, and it's just pure torture for you, since it was your own request, I won't say anything more."

Asagiri stepped back a short distance, standing about twenty meters away from Ashikaga Miwa, then bowed slightly and replied with a smile.

"The meaning lies in getting used to this kind of torment."

"Sigh, these days, high school students really have serious delusions of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)..."

Seeing Asagiri approaching at an astonishing speed, Ashikaga Miwa raised her automatic rifle, aimed at her, and then pulled the trigger without hesitation.

This time, however, Asagiri did not dodge or flinch at all. After all, with a rapid-fire weapon like an automatic rifle, which has an extremely high rate of fire, it is almost impossible to predict the trajectory of the bullets and dodge them at this distance, just as he had done before.

He simply raised his arms to protect his face, then, bracing himself against the bullets fired from the automatic rifle, he approached Ashikaga Miwa step by step in the distance, under the shocked gazes of Kato Megumi and Yuuki Asuna.

……

Two hours later.

As Ashikaga Miwa cleaned up the dojo littered with rubber bullet debris, she glanced at Yuuki Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Asagiri, who had changed into clean clothes and were about to leave, and asked them in a calm tone.

"Utsunomiya-kun, have you ever considered becoming a gladiator?"

"A gladiator?"

Asagiri put on a coat, since the nights in early spring were still somewhat chilly.

"Aren't these so-called fighters just wild beasts in the animal fights that big tycoons keep for their own amusement? I have no interest in them."

Ashikaga Miwa nodded and said calmly.

"Too."

After leaving the dojo, Kato Megumi nodded to Asagiri and Yuuki Asuna and said in a very polite voice.

"Thank you for training me today. I'll head back now."

"I already told you, there's no need to be so polite, Kato-kun."

Asuna Yuuki waved her hand and said with a smile.

"I'll contact you in advance when we have the next special training session."

"Ok."

As Kato Megumi turned and left, her figure gradually disappearing from sight, Yuuki Asuna's sweet smile faded. When she turned to look at Asagiri, her eyes were filled with deep worry and concern. She wanted to reach out and touch Asagiri's shoulder, but her slender fingertips trembled, just like her voice.

"Are you...are you okay?"

"What's your expression?"

Seeing Yuuki Asuna's worried and slightly sad expression, Asagiri reached out and stroked her long hair, teasing her with a smile.

"Just looking at you, I thought I was dead and you were a widow. It's just special training, of course I'm fine..."

"Liar."

Asuna Yuuki interrupted softly, then reached out and grasped Asagiri's wrist. With her other hand, she gently pulled up Asagiri's sleeve, revealing bruises all over Asagiri's arm.

Then she raised her head and looked directly at Asagiri's face, her eyes trembling, appearing very moving in the dim light of the street lamp.

"Even with your current physical condition, taking a direct hit from a rubber bullet wouldn't cause serious injury, but it would still result in bruises like this, and... it would hurt a lot..."

"It does not matter."

Asagiri shook her head nonchalantly and replied in a lighthearted tone with a smile.

"As my physical abilities improve, and with the increased resistance brought by the Asura trait, it won't be long before I have the defense to withstand bullets head-on. So, I need to get used to the feeling of being hit by bullets through special training as soon as possible. When I face the Blackwatch enemies again, the training will show its effectiveness."

Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna Yuuki pursed her lips, her eyes dimming slightly, and her right hand, which was gripping the other's sleeve, tightened its grip.

"You're already thinking about the future and enduring this pain for special training, but I..."

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't worry yet."

Asagiri didn't give Yuuki Asuna a chance to wallow in self-pity, and directly interrupted her spellcasting.

"You can't think you're useless. In the newbie dungeon, you helped me figure out the hidden rules of this game. In the second dungeon, although I was the one delaying the movement of the floating corpse evil spirit, it was you who destroyed the main body of the enemy. I couldn't have done it alone. And in the last dungeon, you were the one clearing out the ordinary infected and the special infected, giving me enough time to recover my stamina. In the end, you killed five Blackwatch soldiers. How can you call that useless?"

Seeing that Asagiri had anticipated her words and, without hesitation, recounted all her contributions as a team member, Asuna Yuuki was somewhat surprised. A blush appeared on her face, and she spoke in a voice barely audible.

"So...so you remember things so clearly even things I myself don't remember..."

"of course."

Asagiri said in a serious tone, "As the captain, I definitely have to record your KDA. If your KDA doesn't meet the standard, I'll expel you~"

Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki wasn't angry; she just couldn't help but chuckle.

"So you're such a heartless person. Sigh, it's true what they say, 'When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked.'"

"Oh, so you're a lackey."

Yuuki Asuna was taken aback by the choking, then said with embarrassment and anger.

You're the lackey!

Immediately afterwards, Yuuki Asuna seemed to have thought of something, a shy blush rose on her face, she mustered up her courage, looked up at Asagiri, and slowly spoke.

"Last time in the dungeon... what I promised you... why didn't you ask me? Have you forgotten?"

What Yuuki Asuna was referring to was what she had told Asagiri before leaving the instance: if he returned safely, she would kiss him anywhere except his cheek.

"Forget? How could I forget?"

Asagiri first replied with a smile, then said very seriously.

"However, if I bring this up myself, it would seem like I'm blackmailing you. That would be too much and unnecessary."

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki raised her hand to tuck her long hair behind her ear and whispered.

"Actually... I'd really like you to bring it up yourself..."

At this point, Asuna Yuuki suddenly took two steps forward, getting closer to Asagiri, silently closing her eyes, and slightly raising her cute and delicate face, her meaning already quite clear.

"If that's the case..."

Asagiri bent down slightly and gently put her arms around Asuna Yuuki's back, feeling her body tremble slightly from nervousness, before kissing Asuna Yuuki's lips.

A few seconds later, the two separated.

Asagiri looked at Yuuki Asuna, whose breathing had become uneven, whose pretty face was flushed, and whose eyes were sparkling, and smiled softly.

"Then please ask my teammate Violet, from now on, to also be my girlfriend Yuuki Asuna and stay by my side forever."

85

Chapter 85 The lead singer works too hard.

Later that evening, at Asagiri's home in Shibuya, Tokyo.

"Will it hurt?"

"No, you can come anywhere."