Template system in High school : DXD

The room was small, damp, and smelled faintly of mold. Cracked wallpaper peeled from the corners, and a single tube light flickered overhead like it was on its last breath. Jin stood at the threshold, a school bag slung off his shoulder, staring at the space in front of him.

He blinked slowly. The weight of everything hadn't landed yet.

He closed the door behind him with a soft click.

Moving on autopilot, Jin reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a strip of painkillers. He dry-swallowed one, then followed it with a thick, bitter capsule House had given him. His body had been a drawn bowstring since morning.

He checked his phone. 10:47 PM.

With a slow thumb, he set a timer.

He lay back on the bed, the stiff springs creaking under his weight. As he exhaled, his muscles slowly started to unwind. His shoulders dropped. His jaw unclenched. His breath, at last, began to steady—

—for a moment.

Then it hit.

His chest tightened. His lungs seized. His hands curled. He shot upright with a gasp, skin slick with sweat, his heart slamming against his ribs.

"Look at you," a voice drawled.

Jin turned sharply.

Kenjiro Muto stood by the window, arms folded. "What now? One setback and you're falling apart?"

Jin stood up, unsteady. "The plan was perfect."

"Was it?" Muto raised an eyebrow, stepping into the light. "Let's walk through it. You beat their grunts, made them fear you and use, then let yourself get 'captured.' The goal? Get brought to their boss. And then what? Give a speech?"

He tapped his forehead with both index fingers. "Think, dammit. That was your airtight plan? You really believed those grunts wouldn't sell you out the moment they don't fear you? and you got what you wanted at last even it was by accident and out of your hand ."

Jin's jaw tensed. "If Toji hadn't shown up—"

"But he did and you got lucky . he didn't severe your head , where even hardening your neck wouldn't have saved you ." Muto cut in sharply. "But-- that gave you what you wanted—access to Zero. And what did you do? You talked and played dead. That was your masterplan?"

"I tried to reach him," Jin said, voice edged with anger. "I thought I could get through. I thought maybe—just maybe—he'd listen."

Muto scoffed. "And you really think they ever will?"

Jin stepped forward. "You and all the others—always chasing blood, trying to prove you're tougher than the next guy. I don't want to kill anyone. Every life is precious. You guys should listen to me."

Muto chuckled dryly. "What are you, a peace negotiator now? Quoting Vinland Saga and acting like suffering makes you profound? and expect other to fall in line ? "

Jin stayed silent .

He walked closer, his tone darkening. "And who says every life is precious? Yours wasn't. You would've died in that street, and no one would've even noticed. If you hadn't got lucky—you'd be just another body in the gutter."

He paused, letting the words hang. "Thorfinn's path isn't yours, Jin. Don't pretend to be someone else."

Jin's lips parted, but the words didn't come.

"I just…" he whispered, "I didn't want bloodshed."

"And yet they burned your home down." Muto's voice softened, but his eyes stayed cold. "They humiliated you. Left you for dead in the street like a stray dog. And no one—no one—would've done a damn thing about it. And you still think playing monk will fix this?"

Jin's breath caught in his throat.

Then—footsteps. Light, deliberate.

A second figure emerged as muto fade.

He looked just like Jin.

Red Hawaiian shirt , white t-shirt under. Black jeans. Wild, spiked hair. A crooked smirk danced on his face, and heavy chains wrapped around his wrists like ornaments. His presence radiated chaos.

His voice was low, mocking. "Why do you keep denying me?"

Jin stepped back, eyes wide.

The chained version tilted his head. "You can pretend you're better than me. Act like you're above it all. But you knew what had to be done. You always do. And every time—you hesitate."

"No," Jin said softly.

Red Jin leaned in, grin widening. "You had every reason to let loose. Yet you choose to use Excuse's always. And you still chose peace. Still chose weakness."

The alarm went off. A shrill, mechanical beep.

Jin blinked.

The figures vanished like smoke blown out by wind.

" Luck might not be in your favour next time . "

Jin stood frozen, his chest rising and falling like crashing waves. The silence that followed was louder than the ringing in his ears.

He turned off the alarm with a trembling finger.

No words.

No thoughts.

He returned to the bed and lay down again, eyes on the stained ceiling, the ghosts of his own voice echoing inside his skull.