At the Boreas Estate, Amelia and her younger cousin Shiosuke had met up to have a discussion.
Amelia: "The president has lost face."
Shiosuke: "I'm surprised he's still in office. He's on borrowed time."
Amelia: "The moment five thousand students died under his watch, his authority died with them." She spoke coldly, each word cutting like a blade. "The public wants accountability. They want someone to blame. And I will give them exactly what they want." Her eyes glinted with an ambition that chilled the room. "Shinatsu was supposed to be useful to me. But she has proven… disappointing."
Shiosuke smirked: "It's a shame, she is strong. Her and the rest of Odd Jobs survived their attack on the Augustus Mansion."
Amelia tapped her nail against the table—tak. tak. tak: "She''s strong, but she failed her purpose. I should've sunken my nails into her sooner."
Shiosuke folded his arms: "You have my condolences. To have complete obedience from the younger generation, you have to strike absolute inspiration into them, or fear."
Amelia stood: "Which brings us to you, Shiosuke."
He bowed slightly, hand on his chest, amused: "I'm honored."
Amelia: "You will expose the vampires in Odd Jobs," she ordered. "Chifuyu, the half-vampire. Ariel, the Vampire Lord. Once their existence becomes public knowledge, the outrage will be overwhelming."
Shiosuke: "Enough to topple the president?"
Amelia: "More than enough." A cold smile spread across her lips, elegant and venomous. "He will be forced to resign. Public trust will collapse entirely. Under such conditions…" She walked past him, her heels echoing through the marble hall. "…the people will need a new leader." She turned, meeting his gaze with royal confidence. "And who better… than me?"
Shiosuke chuckled: "So you intend to run for Head of the Hunter Agency."
Amelia: "I intend to win."
Shiosuke: "What will you have done to the half-vampire and Vampire Lord."
Amelia: "Executed." The word was spoken gently, as though she were discussing the weather. Not the deaths of two people, but monsters. "Once I am appointed, I will sign their execution orders myself. Publicly."
Shiosuke could sense it. Her ambition was not merely political. It was personal. Amelia Boreas wanted revenge. She wanted power. She wanted absolute control over the Hunter Agency. She wanted the world to obey her.
Shiosuke placed a hand on his chin: "What about Shoyo? Surely he'll get in the way."
Amelia's eyes darkened: "The fool is on the President's side. He too will lose public trust."
Shiosuke: "And if he doesn't? What if half of the population sides with you, and the other half with him?"
Amelia smirked: "I'll put a hit out on him, for the Hidden District."
Shiosuke whistled: "So, what'll you have me do?"
Amelia: "You will observe. Find their routines. Their weaknesses. Their blind spots. When the time comes… we will strike loudly. In a way that sends a message across all districts. There should be no question as to why they must die."
Shiosuke's smile widened in appreciation: "You want the world to celebrate their execution."
Amelia: "Exactly."
Outside, the moon hid behind a drifting cloud.
***
Golden Festival Day 12
One Week has gone by.
Diego is in a full Hunter uniform: "That's right, ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted from the center of the living room, both thumbs pointing proudly at his chest. "I, Diego Pegula am now officially a Hunter! Try not to faint."
Shinatsu seated on the couch didn't even glance up: "So we're letting anybody become a Hunter now?"
Kagura popped up waving two confetti poppers: "Whooo! Diego, congrats! I'll be counting on you to protect me!"
Diego: "I'll protect you from harm."
Pop. Pop. Two confetti blooms hit him in the face anyway.
Shinatsu: "Kagura, use him as a meat shield."
Chifuyu leaned back in a chair with his arms folded: "I heard you did good at the mansion, Diego."
Diego's grin softened a bit: "Thanks, bro."
Iris clapped from a corner quietly, nervously like she was applauding a forbidden ritual: "I-I think you look cool… in uniform…" she said before shrinking behind her bowl of ice cream.
Nicholas nodded proudly: "Now all of us are Hunters, Yuji's uniform came in too."
Yuji: "It's a perfect fit."
Kagura: "Ina did take your measurements after all."
The morning was going well, until it wasn't.
Diego: "ALRIGHT, WHO ATE MY CHOCOLATE?!"
The room froze. Everyone turned. Diego stood by the kitchen still in full uniform holding an empty wrapper like it was a crime scene artifact. His eyes were hollow. His soul left his body.
Yuji, sitting on the arm of the couch, lazily picked at his ear: "Oh. That was yours?"
Diego's jaw dropped: "YOU—?! Why would you eat that? THAT WAS MY FIRST CHOCOLATE AS A HUNTER! MY COMMEMORATIVE PIECE!"
Yuji shrugged: "I was hungry."
Diego: "YOU—YOU DEMON!!"
Chifuyu leaned toward Diego: "Let's kill him," he whispered.
Yuji twitched: "What was that?"
Diego stomped forward, fiery: "YOU listen! You don't TOUCH another man's chocolate! That's sacred!"
Yuji: "Maybe keep it in your room and not the kitchen then."
Chifuyu: "Diego, this is unforgivable. This is a sin punishable by death."
Diego: "CHIFUYU'S RIGHT!" He bellowed. "THIS MEANS WAR!"
Yuji: "Oi," Yuji said, standing up, cracking his neck with a deadpan expression. "If you two wanna die before lunch, let's take it outside."
A slow, evil grin spread across both Chifuyu and Diego's faces. The shared grin of two idiots aligned by destiny.
Chifuyu whispered: "This fool's fallen right into our hands."
Diego: "A 2v1. He doesn't stand a chance."
Nicholas blinked: "This doesn't look good."
Iris tugged on Kagura's sleeve: "I-Is someone gonna stop them…?"
Kagura already had popcorn: "Nope! This is premium entertainment!"
Shinatsu sighed deeply: "Idiots… Morons… Birds with smaller brains have better judgment."
Caesar raised a hand: "I'll bet five dollars Yuji wins."
Kagura: "You're on."
The customers in the café heard everything, leaned over tables with fascination. A few grabbed their coffees to follow outside.
Chifuyu slammed open the café door. Diego followed, cracking his knuckles. Yuji walked behind them, rolling his shoulders like a man preparing to demolish two delinquents. Everyone trailed outside. Ariel and Beatrice who were working the cafe followed.
Birds perched along power lines until three wooden swords clattered to the ground.
Yuji raised his blade first. Chifuyu and Diego mirrored each other on instinct, shoulder to shoulder like childhood friends who had done this countless times.
Yuji exhaled, expression cold: "Alright. Who do I beat unconscious first?"
Diego smirked: "I'll make you regret eating my chocolate."
Chifuyu: "I'll make you regret breathing."
Yuji's eyebrow twitched violently: "Okay. You're both dead."
Kagura flopped into a reclining lawn chair she dragged out of nowhere: "Wooo! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Beatrice reclined beside her, already munching: "This should be fun."
Ariel hopped onto the fence: "I don't know what's going on, but smash him Chifuyu!"
Nicholas: "Who're you putting your money on, Iris?"
Iris: "Eh? Uh… I guess Chifuyu."
Shinatsu: "I hope Chifuyu and Diego get their butts kicked."
Caesar: "Go Chifuyu and Diego!"
The air grew tense. Wind rustled the leaves.
Yuji vanished, his footwork was deadly. Chifuyu swung from the left. Diego flanked from the right. Yuji blocked Diego's slash with terrifying precision, redirected it, parried Chifuyu's follow-up, kicked Diego in the stomach, elbowed Chifuyu in the ribs, spun, and knocked both swords upward. Two wooden blades spiraled into the sky.
Diego: "HOW—?!" He coughed, stumbling back.
Chifuyu held his side: "Be careful, this guy's a vicious demon in human skin."
Diego: "I can tell."
Yuji lunged forward and punched Chifuyu square in the face. He tumbled across the lawn like a pinball. Yuji sidestepped Diego's punch, grabbed his collar, spun him, and slammed him onto the grass. They quickly recovered and grabbed their blades. Then three wooden swords struck the air at once.
Chifuyu lunged first, left foot cutting across the stone path, his swing was sharp and fluid. Diego mirrored him from the right, sweeping low, aiming to close Yuji's escape routes. Their coordination was seamless, pressure from two angles, synchronized like twin storms. Yuji's sword moved once. He deflected Chifuyu's blade upward, twisted, then slid back a half-step, just enough for Diego's swing to slice through empty air. Dust lifted where Diego's strike landed, splintering a shallow groove into the yard. Yuji didn't wait. He stepped in, pivoted, and cracked his hilt against Diego's wrist forcing his grip to falter before spinning off the rebound into a tight parry against Chifuyu's follow-up strike. Chifuyu's blow was faster than before, but Yuji's footwork was faster still. He sank low, avoided the slash by a hairsbreadth, and rose with explosive force, blade sweeping Chifuyu's guard wide. Diego recovered, rushing in to intercept. Yuji let their momentum crash toward him then redirected it with a swift shift of balance, letting the two collide with each other's pressure rather than his own.
Diego skidded back on the stone, Chifuyu slid his back foot measuring Yuji again. Yuji's stance didn't change. His breathing didn't waver. His stillness alone carried the weight of intimidation. Chifuyu took a sharp step in, blade cutting diagonally. Diego matched him, thrusting high. Yuji parried Chifuyu's slash downward, making the blade bite into the ground, then whipped around to catch Diego's thrust with the flat of his sword, jolting Diego's arm. He pressed in between them, a single controlling presence against two attackers. A swift flick, Diego's sword flew from his grasp again, spinning through the air. Chifuyu took advantage, igniting the tempo. He rushed Yuji with blistering speed, weaving unpredictable angles, strikes flowing from high to low, each swing heavier than the last. The wind of the blows brushed Yuji's hair. Yuji shifted his weight, reading him like a book. Right foot slides. Blade lifts. Elbow drops. Parry, redirect, counter. Chifuyu pushed harder. He began chaining rapid, short strikes, each blow overlapping the last. Yuji blocked three, deflected four, dodged two. The tenth barely connected, Yuji absorbed it, twisting his body to let it slide off his guard. Chifuyu's eyes sharpened. He flipped his sword in his hand for a reverse-spin strike. Yuji burst forward. He closed the distance in less than a breath, shoulder slamming into Chifuyu with controlled force, sending him stumbling back across the yard. Chifuyu managed to roll mid-fall, stopping himself with one hand before sliding to a knee.
Diego had reclaimed his sword. He charged. His style wasn't refined, but it was daring, he had wide arcs, fierce momentum, overhead blows that shook the grass beneath them. Yuji parried each strike with exactly the amount of force required, never more, never less letting Diego wear himself down. Then Yuji tilted his blade. One clean upward strike hitting Diego on the chin. Chifuyu surged forward, sword raised, expression sharpened with determination. He attacked in tight spirals, swings that forced Yuji to adjust angles rapidly. They clashed in a blur of wood and motion. Chifuyu rotated his blade. Yuji broke the rotation mid-swing. Chifuyu spun low for a sweeping slash. Yuji jumped. Mid-air, he twisted his torso, landing behind Chifuyu with stable footing. Chifuyu turned instantly, but Yuji struck before he could regain full form, his hilt tapping sharply against Chifuyu's ribs.
Chifuyu gasped silently, stumbling back. Diego reentered the fight. He rushed Yuji, aiming to grab him, to disrupt his stance. Yuji pivoted and swept Diego's legs in one clean motion, dropping him onto the grass. Diego rolled away, Yuji didn't let him. He advanced, eyes sharp, feet cutting a precise pattern across the yard. Diego swung upward desperately but Yuji's blade connected with a solid crack. A controlled push to the chest knocked Diego onto his back once more.
Chifuyu exploded back into the clash. He drove his blade forward, overhead strike, shoulder charge, desperate angle shifts. Yuji met him with deadly efficiency. Every strike Yuji blocked seemed to take a fraction of Chifuyu's energy.
Chifuyu leapt, twisting, bringing his sword down with full force. Yuji caught it. With two fingers. The wooden blade stopped cold between them. Chifuyu's breath hitched. Yuji turned the sword aside, stepped in, and tapped Chifuyu in the stomach with the hilt. Chifuyu dropped to one knee, wind knocked out of him. Diego roared silently and launched a full-body tackle from behind. Yuji sidestepped effortlessly, Diego flew past him and crashed into a bush with a muffled thud. Yuji walked forward, raising his blade.
Chifuyu rose, legs shaking but refusing to stay down. He lifted his sword again, pushing through exhaustion. Diego stumbled back to his feet too, grabbing a third wooden sword, refusing to yield. Chifuyu aimed high, Diego aimed low. Yuji parried high, dodged low. A sideways spin, a rising block, a sweeping counter, steel-like precision in a wooden weapon. Yuji stepped inside their guard.
A clean strike to Chifuyu's wrist, his sword flew.
A sharp hit to Diego's ribs—he crumpled.
Yuji struck the air once. A finishing gesture. Yuji stood above them, steady, unshaken, wooden sword resting loosely at his side.
Even two-on-one with full pressure, Yuji hadn't been pushed to his limit. Not even close.
The customers applauded.
Chifuyu and Diego staggered up and jumped away, Chifuyu grabbed Diego by the shoulders: "BRO! We need a plan!"
Diego grabbed his shoulders right back: "BRO! We just got walked!"
They shook each other violently like malfunctioning bobbleheads.
Shinatsu groaned.
Yuji twirled his sword: "You two done?"
"No!" they shouted in perfect harmony.
Chifuyu: "Alright, listen." he leaned in, whispering. "He's stronger than us in every way."
Diego: "No doubt."
Chifuyu: "So we fight dirty."
Diego grinned: "I'm listening."
Chifuyu raised a finger: "We distract him… by insulting him."
Diego pointed: "HEY YUJI, YOUR HAIR LOOKS LIKE A DISAPPOINTED BROOM!"
Chifuyu yelled next: "YEAH! AND YOU'RE SO SHORT-TEMPERED THAT EVEN A THERMOMETER WOULD TELL YOU TO CALM DOWN!"
Yuji begins to look visibly angry.
Diego shouted desperately: "NOW, CHIFUYU—ATTACK WHILE HE'S MAD!"
Chifuyu charged.
Diego charged.
Yuji raised his sword.
And both their blades missed completely. Yuji's blade hit both their skulls at once with a bonk.
Two lumps formed instantly.
Both idiots knelt down, groaning.
Ariel's smile turned into a disappointed frown realizing Chifuyu didn't stand a chance.
Chifuyu: "Where were you aiming, is that uniform just for show?!"
Diego: "Huh?! What about you, Disciple of the strongest Hunter? You're losing to this nobody!"
Chifuyu: "Maybe if someone wasn't getting in my way!"
Diego: "You got it twisted, you're getting in my way!"
The two started huffing, still exhausted from their beating.
Chifuyu rested on one knee: "D… Diego… listen…"
Diego groaned on the ground beside him: "Huh…?"
Chifuyu pointed at Yuji with trembling determination: "He wants us to fight each other."
Yuji blinked confused.
Diego gasped: "Chifuyu… you're right…"
Yuji stared with a blank face.
Chifuyu's eyes shone with fake enlightenments "This is exactly what he wants… He wants us to fall apart."
Diego nodded rapidly: "This is psychological warfare…!"
Shinatsu: "I think he head their heads a little too hard."
Chifuyu stood and held out his hand: "Diego… we are better than this. Better than him."
Diego grabbed his hand: "You're right, brother."
The two embraced dramatically. Everyone stared.
Two synchronized smacks landed on Chifuyu and Diego's skulls. They collapsed face-first into the grass.
Kagura applauded wildly: "OOHH! DOUBLE K.O!"
Caesar: "Chifuyu, no!"
Nicholas: "That was a good fight."
Yuji dusted his hands: "You two done wasting my time?"
Diego growled and rose: ""You know what…? That's it."
Chifuyu rose too, cracking his neck: "Yeah. That's it."
The two pointed at Yuji in unison: "LET'S PUMMEL THIS DOUCHEBAG!!"
Ariel: "That's what I like to see Chifuyu!"
Shinatsu: "It's not over yet?"
Yuji sighed, lowering his stance. The final clash was about to begin. Yuji rolled his shoulders again, like he was loosening up for a light stretch rather than a two-on-one. Chifuyu and Diego stood side by side, wooden swords raised, foreheads throbbing with matching lumps.
Diego leaned in toward Chifuyu, voice low: "Hey. Let's get serious."
Chifuyu squinted: "We have been serious."
Diego shook his head: "No, no, really serious. I got an idea." Diego's grin sharpened. "Use your curse for just a second."
Chifuyu stiffened: "Seriously?"
Diego: "Just a quick punch. Fast enough so no one will see it."
A devilish smile wrapped around Chifuyu's face: "I like the way you think."
Yuji tapped his sword on the ground impatiently: "You two done conspiring?"
Iris fidgeted from the sidelines: "Th-they're planning something… I can feel it…"
Nicholas chuckled: "There's never a dull moment here, is there?"
Shinatsu: "Nope."
They broke their little huddle.
Yuji lifted his sword higher: "Hope that secret meeting made you smarter."
The air grew tense again.
Chifuyu stepped forward, his stance tighter than before, eyes narrowed. Diego circled around, flanking Yuji from the right. Yuji watched them both, cool and calm, like he was tracking insects.
Then—
Chifuyu moved. He darted in, blade sweeping low. Yuji parried, sparks flying off the clack of wood. Diego slid in behind him, trying to strike the opening left in the exchange. Yuji pivoted. Diego's strike barely grazed his shoulder as Yuji twisted his torso and countered with a brutal kick aimed at Diego's shin. Chifuyu came in from Yuji's blind spot, slicing upward. Yuji's sword snapped down, intercepting the attack in perfect timing. Their blades locked, pressure crackling between them.
Diego sprinted behind Yuji and swung at his back. Yuji let go of Chifuyu's sword, ducked, and Diego's blade whiffed the air where his head had been. Yuji flowed low, sweeping Diego's legs. Chifuyu slashed downward. Yuji rolled to the side, grass tearing beneath him, and came up with a rising slash that nearly knocked Chifuyu's sword out of his hand.
The crowd ooh'd.
Beatrice: "His swordsmanship really is something. It's efficient. No wasted movement."
Shinatsu nodded slightly: "He's holding back, too."
Nicholas chuckled: "That's him holding back?"
They were coordinating better now. Every time Yuji went for a hit, the other tried to slip in. Flanking attacks, feints, and overlapping footwork, the kind of teamwork that would've made any instructor proud. The problem was that Yuji wasn't just stronger. He was faster. Sharper. Colder. He saw the angles before they did. As Diego lunged again, Yuji sidestepped with calculated grace. He slapped Diego's sword aside and jabbed him in the ribs with the hilt. Chifuyu jumped forward, ready to cover him. Yuji spun, parried, and nearly whacked Chifuyu in the temple.
Chifuyu rushed in again, but this time there was a different weight to his steps, tighter guard, more focus. Yuji met him without hesitation, their wooden blades clashing with a sharp crack.
Diego bounded around behind Yuji, but instead of swinging right away, he slowed for half a second: "Now!"
Chifuyu's eyes sharpened. He let Yuji's blade slide off his. And in that tiny opening, he took a step closer. His left fist drew back. For a fraction of a second, his knuckles darkened. Black veins emerged for a moment as flickers of dark flame covered his fist. He drove that fist straight into Yuji's right side, burying it deep in his liver.
The impact was muffle, a heavy, sickening thud. Yuji's breath left his lungs in a violent rush. His eyes widened: "—ghh!"
He staggered sideways, nearly dropping his sword, knees buckling for half a second. The flames on Chifuyu's hand vanished the instant the punch connected, sucked away like they had never existed. To the casual eye, from the angle of the café customers it looked like a solid body blow.
But to the people of Odd Jobs? They saw it clear as day. Ariel let out a guffaw.
Yuji clutched his side, staring at Chifuyu in disbelief: "You bastard, what the hell… was that…?"
Chifuyu shooed him away with his free hand: "Relax. That was just my marvelous left hook."
Iris whispered: "That was definitely his curse…"
Diego moved again, trying to capitalize on the hit: "Get him while he's stunned!!"
Yuji straightened. Dead serious.
Diego barely got his sword up before Yuji blurred forward.
One strike.
The wooden blade smacked Diego's ribs hard enough to send him tumbling sideways into the dirt.
Diego: "GAAH!!"
Chifuyu: "Diego!"
Yuji closed the distance to Chifuyu in two silent steps, sword arcing in a clean diagonal. He barely blocked. The force rattled his arms. Yuji's next strike came from above, slamming into Chifuyu's guard so hard it knocked him to one knee. His arms screamed at him. Yuji kicked him square in the chest. Chifuyu flew backward and skidded across the grass. Yuji turned just in time to meet Diego's wild overhead strike. He parried, twisted, and drove his elbow into Diego's gut. Diego doubled over. Yuji brought the sword down on his back. Diego crumpled to the dirt with a broken groan. Shinatsu's eyes narrowed. She watched Yuji's stance, noting the subtle shift, this wasn't training he got from the Hunter Academy.
Chifuyu staggered up again, legs shaking. He rushed Yuji one last time, swinging for his shoulder. Yuji sidestepped, struck Chifuyu's wrist, and disarmed him cleanly. The wooden sword flew off to the side. Chifuyu barely had time to lift his arms before Yuji's open palm slammed into his chest. He hit the ground hard.
A wave of cheers and laughter broke out.
Kagura pumped her fist: "Woooo!! Yuji wins!!"
The cafe customers clapped enthusiastically while whistling.
Beatrice: "That was more impressive."
Nicholas chuckled: "Yuji's terrifying."
Iris exhaled: "I-I thought someone would actually die…"
Ariel jumped over to Chifuyu: "Looks like you need more training."
Chifuyu: "Ugh…"
Diego: "I need a bath with epsom salt."
Shinatsu: "Time for the losers to pay up."
Kagura stood up, dusted her shorts, and sauntered toward Diego as the customers began filing back inside, still buzzing from the free entertainment: "Up you get, fallen hero."
Diego took it with a wince: "Thanks…"
She pulled him up a bit too enthusiastically, making him hurt everywhere he was hit.
Caesar: "Well, that was fun."
Yuji rested his sword on his shoulder, he walked toward Chifuyu, eyes back to their usual flat calm, but there was a new edge in them: "Hey, what the hell was that back there?"
Chifuyu rubbed his chest, still reeling: "What, my superior boxing technique?"
Yuji's stare did not budge.
Shinatsu: "I think it's okay to tell him."
Chifuyu sighed.
The rest of Odd Jobs drifted closer, forming a loose circle. The customers had already gone back inside.
Chifuyu scratched his cheek: "Right… I guess you're the only one here who doesn't know."
Yuji folded his arms: "Know what?"
Chifuyu took a breath: "Okay, so… long story short…" He glanced at Ariel. "I turned into a half-vampire. And Ariel is a Vampire Lord."
Yuji blinked twice: "…Huh?"
Chifuyu nodded: "Yep. We're vampires."
Yuji's voice jumped a pitch: "No—hold on—what?!"
Kagura: "They even went through a whole trial."
Diego: "The Vampire Lord part was wild, I must admit."
Ariel waved: "Hi. Nice to meet you."
Yuji stared at Ariel, then at Chifuyu, then back at Ariel, then at Chifuyu again like he was trying to force the world to make sense: "I need the whole story."
Chifuyu sighed: "Okay, fine."
He told Yuji everything.
How he was attacked.
How Ariel was unsealed.
How she saved him.
The trial held for him and Ariel.
Shoyo's training.
Joining Odd Jods.
And the Augustus Mansion Raid.
Yuji: "No wonder you were able to pull all that stuff trying to get the special edition volume."
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
Yuji: "Who knows?"
Chifuyu shrugged uneasily: "The Hunters and higher-ups who were at the trial. Everyone here at Odd Jobs. Shoyo. Ina. My parents. Probably every Special Rank. So a decent list."
He tried to make light of it. The humor felt a little thin.
Yuji looked at Chifuyu with an expression that didn't quite fit the dumb brawl they just had. His eyes were sharp: "You're in a much more dangerous position than you realize."
The atmosphere shifted.
Kagura blinked, her smile faltering. Diego's shoulders straightened. Everyone's gaze hardened a fraction.
Chifuyu's attempt at levity faded: "What do you mean?"
Yuji glanced around at all of them, the cafe, the quiet street, the warm air, the echoes of laughter that still hung where the crowd had been: "If the Hidden District finds out what you are, you and everyone here will be in danger."
The words dropped like stones into a still pond.
Chifuyu stared back at Yuji, the echo of his words reverberating in his chest. Danger. Not just for him. For everyone here. The morning light felt a little less bright.
Diego was the first to break the silence: "Wait… they'd come after us because Chifuyu's a half-vampire?" He frowned. "Why? What would they even get out of that?"
Yuji: "Everything they do is for money. That's how the Hidden District works. Everything's business and blood. A half-vampire a Vampire Lord attracts the kind of money those people would kill for."
Ariel: "Well, let them try." The air pulsed with a quiet authority that made even the wind pause. "If anyone from the Hidden District wants a fight, then they can have one. Odd Jobs is not weak."
Her confidence radiated like a small sun, fierce and proud.
But beside her, Iris hugged her own elbows tighter: "I-I've h-had enough fighting for the year…"
Kagura placed a hand gently on Iris's shoulder, rubbing slow circles: "Yeah… we all have."
The atmosphere teetered between warmth and dread.
Yuji: "In any case. since you guys got ties to Shoyo, the chances are low they actually attack. Hidden District doesn't like poking dragons they can't kill."
Chifuyu hadn't spoken. He stared at the dirt beneath him, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. More danger. More threats. Meaning people who could die because of getting involved with him. A familiar, suffocating pressure wrapped around his lungs. He felt like he was back in that courtroom again. Like he was back in his own head, wondering whether he should even exist in this world.
Chifuyu swallowed hard: "I…" His voice cracked. He tried again, quieter. "I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Shinatsu stepped forward: "Chifuyu," we're strong. All of us. We wouldn't be Hunters if we weren't."
Caesar: "Yeah. We can handle ourselves."
Diego raised his fist: "Damn right."
Kagura grinned again: "If we're together, we can survive anything."
Nicholas: "Haha. These guys do sound a bit dangerous though."
Iris nodded timidly: "Mmhm… I think so too…"
Beatrice: "If the Hidden District is foolish enough to threaten us, then they'll simply be removed."
Diego shuddered: "You're so cool, Nova!"
Chifuyu looked up at all of them. People who had become important without him even realizing it. The weight on his chest loosened, not gone, but loosened enough for him to breathe.
Kagura: "For better or worse, we're stuck with each other."
Chifuyu exhaled slowly and smiled, knowing he had reliable friends who chose to stick by his side.
Yuji still watched Chifuyu, expression unreadable. He wasn't the type to give comforting speeches. He wasn't the type to sugarcoat danger or pretend things were fine. But even he seemed calmer now.
Then, a customer came out: "Hey, if you guys are ready to come back in, I'd like to order something else."
Kagura: "Coming!
Chifuyu was still in his head.
One day…
The danger will reach us.
One day…
This peaceful laughter will be threatened again.
But then he remembered Shinatsu's voice.
We're strong.
For now, he just had to have all the fun he could.