Akira woke on the dojo's wooden floor, staring up at ceiling beams blackened by age and smoke.
For a second, he didn't move.
Pain rolled through him in layers—shoulders, ribs, spine—each one familiar, almost comforting.
Good.That meant he survived.
He exhaled slowly.
Bandages cinched tight around his right eye, pressure pulling at his temple every time his heartbeat spiked. Whatever Ito had done this time, it hadn't been gentle.
"I can use Tao now," Akira thought."…At least a little."
Ito had driven him like a weapon being forged, not a student being taught. Days blurred together—impact, breath, blood, repeat.
Akira pushed himself upright with a grunt.
Morning light spilled through the windows, bleaching the room white. He caught his reflection in a cracked mirror across the wall and paused.
He looked… wrong.
Not injured.Not broken.
Sharper.
His jaw sat tighter. His posture had changed without him noticing. Like something inside him had been stripped down and rebuilt with fewer safety measures.
"…I grew," he muttered.
Not taller.Not stronger in the obvious way.
But denser. Like pressure packed into bone.
Steam filled the bathroom as he stepped under the shower, hot water biting into bruised skin. He stayed there longer than necessary, letting the noise drown his thoughts.
It didn't work.
Sora's face surfaced anyway.
Always watching.Always calculating.
She didn't look at him like a rival. Or a teammate.
She looked like she was checking to see if he'd snap.
The bathroom door slammed open.
Ito didn't bother knocking.
"Finally," he said, red ponytail swaying as he leaned against the frame. "You sleep like the dead, kid. Get dressed. We're leaving."
Akira cracked one eye open. "Where?"
Ito turned away already. "You'll see."
The air outside the Yoru compound cut sharp and clean, pine trees towering on both sides of the road as Ito's black car ate up the distance.
For once, Ito didn't talk.
That bothered Akira more than the bruises.
"So," Akira said finally, staring out the window. "You train me half to death, then drag me out before breakfast. This some kind of errand?"
Ito didn't look at him."A man nearly a million credits in debt shouldn't complain."
Then, after a beat—
"The Hunter Exam is today."
Akira's fingers twitched.
"…So that's where we're going."
Ito nodded once. "You're becoming a Hunter."
The city thinned. Concrete faded into stone. The car slowed.
Stopped.
Akira stepped out—and froze.
"…A graveyard?"
Fog clung low between weathered headstones. Ito walked ahead without hesitation, boots crunching against gravel until he stopped before two graves.
Old.Maintained.
The names were softened by time, but still readable.
Ayame YamatoRen Yamato
Ito crossed his arms. "You didn't answer me before. About what you want before you die."A glance back. "Most people want to meet their parents. One way or another."
Akira knelt slowly, fingers brushing the carved letters.
The silence pressed down on him like judgment.
"They're not my parents," he said flatly.
Ito raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Died to a Yokai the same year you were born."
Akira stood, shadow swallowing the graves."My parents wouldn't die in some random attack," he said. "They wouldn't go out like that."
Ito's grin twitched. Just barely.
"…Alright," he said. "Just checking."
By afternoon, the gates rose before them.
The Hunter Association Headquarters.
Marble spires pierced the sky. Banners from every kingdom rippled with Tao, saturated so thick it prickled Akira's skin. The courtyard swarmed with examinees—faces carved with hunger, fear, ambition, or emptiness already burned in.
Ito placed a hand on Akira's shoulder.
Firm. Grounding.
"This is the first step," he said.
Akira inhaled deeply. His eye burned—not pain.
Resolve.
"Then let's start."
Lanternlight washed the grand hall in gold.
At its center stood a man in white robes trimmed with gold, a crimson spiral pinned to his chest. His hair—white, streaked with red and blue—caught the chandeliers like flame.
Kenji Sato.Grand General of the Sao Kingdom.
"Welcome, future Hunters!" His voice rolled through the hall. "I hope you survive—preferably in great fashion."
A grin. Sharp. Enjoying this far too much.
"Beyond that? You're on your own."
Then his gaze found them.
"…Ito Yoru," Kenji said lightly. "Didn't think you'd go that far for a stray."
Ito shrugged. "He's stronger than he looks."
Kenji's eyes slid to Akira."Good. I brought one of my own this year."
A pause.
"Let's see whose student lasts longer."
Akira didn't blink."I'm not here to survive," he said. "I'm here to win."
Kenji smiled wider.
"Then let the games begin."
The gate groaned open.
They surged forward.
Akira ran.
Stone blurred beneath his feet as darkness swallowed the corridor. The passage spat them into a single room—bare bulb overhead, a lone wooden chair at its center.
The gate slammed shut.
A woman lounged in the chair, cigarette burning low.
Early thirties.Sharp eyes.Tired eyes.
"Kaori Tsukikage," she said. "Your first examiner."
Ash fell to the floor.
"I'm here to test the bare minimum requirement of being a Hunter."
She closed her eyes.
For one second.
"…You can all use Tao."
Murmurs rippled.
Akira blinked. That's it?
Kaori raised a hand. "Relax. If you fail what comes next, you don't belong here anyway."
"How are Yokai ranked?"
Silence.
"Grades one through seven."
"Strongest?"
"Grade seven."
"What is Tao?"
A beat.
"Life energy," someone said. "The source of all living things."
Kaori nodded.
Then her voice hardened.
"As Hunters, your job is simple. Kill Yokai."
Some flinched.
"Yokai are made of Tao. Their Tao leaks over time—so they eat humans to survive."A drag."Humans and Yokai impose on each other. They cannot coexist without a contract."
Her gaze cut through the room.
"Understand?"
They nodded.
"Second test."
The bulb flickered.
"I'll ask a question. Answer silently. I'll know if you lie."
A pause.
"If you could save your parents… or an entire city—who would you choose?"
Time stretched.
Kaori watched.
Measured.
Then she stood.
"You pass," she said as the next gate opened. "Hunters don't need to be good people."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Just people who do good things."
Thirty minutes later.
Trees shook with the echo of steel.
Hinata stood before Akira, longsword drawn, hands trembling—not fear.
Fury.
"So—did you kill him or not?!"
Akira stood over a lifeless body.
Blood soaked the ground.
His face was hidden in shadow.
Silent.
Unreadable.
And for the first time—
Hinata wasn't sure whether Akira was a hero…
Or something else entirely.