Reborn With The Milf "Harem" System

The world below carried on students laughing faintly as they left the building, the distant hum of traffic, but up here, it felt like the air itself had thickened into something heavy, something suffocating.

Rika's grip hadn't loosened. Her nails still pressed into Renji's wrist, and her whole body trembled as though she were standing naked in the cold.

Renji eased his hand over hers, prying her fingers gently free. "Breathe, Sensei," he said. His tone was steady, firm but soft in its own way. "She's gone."

Rika shook her head, her chest rising and falling too fast. "No, Renji, you don't understand." She backed a step away, hugging herself tightly. "That wasn't… that wasn't just a girl. I know it. I could feel it."

Renji frowned. He'd felt it too. The way her presence pressed down on them, the way her words cut like knives dipped in venom—it was nothing like an ordinary student stumbling into something scandalous.

He stepped toward Rika, laying his hand on her shoulder. She flinched but didn't pull away. Her wide eyes searched his face as though desperate for something solid to cling to.

"She knew," Rika whispered, voice breaking. "She knew about us, about what we did up here. And that smile…" She trailed off, shivering.

Renji tightened his grip just slightly, grounding her. "Then let her know. I don't give a damn who she is or what game she's playing. You're mine, Rika. No shadow's going to take that from me."

The words struck through her fear, leaving her trembling for a different reason. Her lips parted, and for a second, she looked like she might collapse into him again—into the safety of his arms, his certainty.

But then her knees buckled, and she really did collapse.

Renji caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her against his chest. Her heart raced so fast he could feel it pounding through her blouse.

"Shh," he murmured, stroking her hair, tucking her head under his chin. "You're okay. I've got you."

Rika squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face into him. She wanted to believe it. She wanted his strength to be enough to erase the image of that shadowy smile, that whisper dripping with doom. But the fear gnawed at her still, eating through the fragile calm his words gave her.

"She's… not the first," Rika admitted suddenly, her voice muffled.

Renji stiffened. He pulled back slightly, enough to see her expression. Her eyes glistened, glassy with tears she tried to blink away.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Rika swallowed hard. "I've felt it before. That… weight. That darkness. In the hallways, once, late after class. Another time, when I was grading papers alone. Always just out of sight. Always gone when I looked closer. I thought I was imagining it. But tonight…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

Renji's gaze hardened. This wasn't just about a rooftop tryst gone wrong. This shadow had been stalking her. Watching her. Maybe even waiting for her to break.

He cupped her face, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Listen to me, Rika. You're not crazy. You didn't imagine it. And you're not alone in this. Whatever the hell that thing is, it's messing with the wrong people."

Her lips trembled as though she wanted to argue, to tell him he was just a boy, just her student. But she couldn't. Not when his eyes burned with that fierce determination, the kind that had nothing to do with age or status.

"Renji…" she whispered, her voice caught between fear and longing.

He kissed her forehead, gentle but grounding. "I'll protect you. That's a promise."

Rika closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, the warmth of his body shielding her against the lingering chill. For the first time since that shadow had appeared, she felt a flicker of safety. Fragile, yes, but real.

Down below, a distant bell chimed the hour. The rooftop lights flickered to life, weak yellow bulbs fighting back the darkness that crept in with nightfall.

Renji helped Rika to her feet, his arm around her waist as though daring the shadows to try again.

But the rooftop was empty now. No trace of the girl remained.

Still, her words lingered, etched deep into both their minds.

Happy now… but how long before it breaks?

The question gnawed at them, an echo neither could silence.

And Renji knew, this was just the beginning.

The walk back from the edge of the rooftop felt like wading through water. Each step was heavy, deliberate, like Rika was afraid the ground might crumble beneath her. Renji never let go of her waist, his hand steady and warm, his body a wall between her and the darkness that still clung to the corners of the rooftop.

They stopped near the rooftop benches, where the faint glow of the weak bulbs pooled just enough to push back the shadows. Rika sat down, her legs folding under her as if she'd lost all strength. Her hands clenched the hem of her skirt, twisting the fabric so tightly it looked like she wanted to tear it apart.

Renji crouched in front of her, forcing her to look at him. "Talk to me," he said firmly. "What did you see? What did you feel? No more holding back."

Rika's lips parted, but for a moment nothing came out. Her throat worked, a visible tremble running through her as though the memory itself was poison.

Finally, she whispered, "It wasn't just her smile. It was her eyes. Renji, they weren't human."

He tilted his head. "Not human?"

She shivered again, dragging her arms around herself. "Empty. But not in a normal way. It was like looking into a mirror that doesn't reflect you back. I couldn't see myself there. Just… hunger."

Renji's jaw tightened. He wasn't the kind to dismiss things easily—not after a second chance at life and everything this system had already thrown at him. If Rika felt this strongly, there was truth in it.

"Do you think she's a student?" he asked, voice low.

Rika shook her head quickly. "No. She looked like one, but… no student carries that kind of presence. I'm a teacher, Renji. I know what it feels like when someone's just a little troubled or acting out. This—this was something else. Something that's been watching me."

Renji leaned back slightly, absorbing her words. His soldier instincts kicked in, piecing together patterns. Rika had felt this before—alone, late, vulnerable. The shadow appeared when she was weakest. Tonight, it surfaced not just to watch, but to taunt. To interrupt.

"You said it's not the first time," he pressed. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Her shoulders hunched. "Because who would believe me? I can't go to the school board and say, 'I think a ghost is stalking me.' They'd say I'm losing it, that the stress of teaching got to me."

Her voice cracked then, anger mixing with fear. "And maybe I thought I was losing it. That's the worst part, Renji. I thought I was going crazy."

Renji reached out, catching her chin and tilting her face toward his. His thumb brushed away the tears threatening to spill. "You're not crazy. You're strong. Stronger than you give yourself credit for. But now you've got me. You don't have to face this shit alone."

Her breath hitched. For a second, she looked at him not as her student, not even as her lover—but as her anchor. The one thing keeping her from being pulled under by this unseen tide.

"Renji…" Her voice wavered, softer now, vulnerable in a way she rarely let herself be. "What if it's not done with me? What if she comes back?"

"Then let her," he said flatly, his eyes hard as steel. "She'll regret it."

That spark in his tone, that mix of defiance and absolute confidence, made Rika's lips tremble. She wanted to believe him so badly.

Renji rose, pulling her up with him, and held her close again. His hands slid across her back, grounding her body with his heat.

"You've been carrying this fear alone for too long," he murmured into her hair. "No wonder it's eating at you. But I'll take that weight from you. Every damn ounce."

Rika clung to him, her face pressed against his chest, and for the first time her tears broke free. Quiet at first, then spilling harder, sobs muffled into his shirt.

Renji didn't try to hush her. He just held her, strong and steady, letting her cry until the rooftop air carried her grief into the night.

Finally, when her sobs slowed to broken breaths, she lifted her head. Her cheeks were wet, her eyes swollen, but there was something lighter in her expression, something freed by the act of breaking down in his arms.

"Renji…" she whispered again.

He kissed her gently—soft, not demanding, just enough to remind her she wasn't alone anymore. "We'll figure this out together. Whatever she is, whoever she is, she doesn't get to own your fear."

Rika nodded faintly, though her body still trembled.

Below them, the school was empty now. The night had grown darker, the lights on the rooftop flickering like they were barely hanging on. And yet, in the middle of that fragile glow, the two of them stood together, teacher and student, lovers and conspirators, bound by a promise forged in the shadow of something neither yet understood.

But Renji knew one thing for certain.

This wasn't over.

The rooftop had just become a battlefield.

It was another day!!!

The rooftop had quieted, but quiet didn't mean peace. Rika's breathing steadied, though her hand never left Renji's sleeve, as if letting go might pull her back into the abyss she'd nearly fallen into.

Renji's eyes scanned the rooftop again. Years of battlefield instinct never let him rest easy, especially not when something unseen was toying with them. The stillness felt off, too complete, too staged, like the silence before a sniper's shot.

He narrowed his eyes. "Stay close."

Rika gave a small nod, tightening her grip on him.

Then, just as they began to move toward the stairwell, a soft sound cut through the night.

Clink.

Metal against concrete.

Renji whipped his head around, muscles coiled like springs. The sound had come from the far corner of the rooftop, near where the shadows gathered deepest.

Rika stiffened. "Renji… she's still here."

The air shifted. Not just cold this time—charged. Like static crawling across skin, prickling hair, making every instinct scream wrong.

Renji stepped forward, shielding Rika behind him. His voice was sharp, commanding, the kind of tone that had once carried over explosions and gunfire.

"Enough hiding. Come out."

For a moment, nothing. Then—movement. A faint shimmer, like heat rising off asphalt, except colder, bending the rooftop light instead of distorting it. The shimmer coalesced, forming the outline of a girl.

The same girl.

The same smile.

Still Unknown!

But this time, closer.

Her school uniform looked perfectly normal, too normal. No wrinkles, no dirt, not a single imperfection, like she'd stepped straight out of a catalogue. Her hair framed her face in neat, sharp strands. And those eyes… empty, just as Rika had described. Too deep, too void.

She tilted her head, as if studying them. Then, without moving her lips, her voice slid across the rooftop.

"You shouldn't be here."

Rika's breath hitched, a small gasp escaping. Renji braced himself, but didn't step back.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" he demanded.

The girl's smile widened, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Wrong question."

Her gaze flicked past him straight to Rika.

Rika froze, her fingers digging into Renji's arm. The girl's expression didn't change, but the air between them thickened, heavy with a tension that made Rika's knees weaken.

Renji stepped forward again, cutting off the line of sight. "You want her, you go through me."

The girl tilted her head the other way, like a bird studying prey. For the first time, her lips moved.

"She doesn't belong to you."

That stung, but not because it was true. It was the certainty in her voice, the ownership, as though Rika was something claimed long before Renji entered her life.

Rika trembled, forcing out words past the weight in her chest. "Why me? What do you want?"

The girl didn't answer. Instead, her body blurred, like static tearing through her image, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

The rooftop returned to silence.

Renji cursed under his breath, scanning every corner, but she'd vanished without a trace. No footsteps. No sound. Not even the faint shimmer she'd appeared with.

Rika sagged against him, her strength failing. "Renji… she's not human."

"No," he agreed, voice grim. "She's something else. And she's after you."

Her eyes watered again, but this time with fear sharper than before. "She looked at me like...like she owns me."

Renji tightened his arms around her. "No one owns you. Not her. Not anyone. You're mine to protect, and I'll tear apart whatever this thing is before I let it touch you again."

Rika buried her face in his chest, nodding against him, trying to anchor herself in his conviction.

But even as he spoke, Renji's mind raced. He had no weapon, no clear enemy, and no explanation for what the hell they'd just faced. He didn't believe in ghosts, not until now. But whether she was ghost, spirit, or something worse, it didn't matter.

She had chosen the wrong woman to haunt.

Because Rika was his.

And Renji didn't lose.