A few minutes later…
A lanky, dark-skinned man in a loose black suit sat in a messy room, staring blankly at a dim TV screen. His braided hair hung over half his face, and the dotted X stitched into his tie glowed faintly. His eyes — tired, crazed, restless — suddenly widened.
Stone Strickland shot to his feet like he'd seen a ghost.
"Kingston," he said sharply. "Yo. We're attacking the Hunter Association?"
Across the room, a shorter man with a small afro lifted his head. The dotted X blazed across the back of his jacket.
"What are you talking about?" Kingston frowned. "Have you gone senile?"
Stone jabbed a finger at the TV.
The screen read: SCISSORS ATTACK THE HUNTER ASSOCIATION.
Kingston blinked. "No way. Did Enma and them really try something that stupid?"
Stone shook his head slowly. "We've been framed."
Kingston's jaw dropped. "So you're telling me the Hunter Association thinks we did this? And they're coming after us?"
Stone rolled his shoulders and fixed his jacket. "Looks like it."
Kingston sighed. "So… I guess we get ready to fight?"
Stone turned to him with a deadly serious stare. "Kingston, let's go. We haven't made an appearance in a while."
Kingston stops, "We're really fighting all of the Hunter Association."
"No. We're going to write a strongly worded letter."
Kingston nodded with equal seriousness."Yeah. That'll show 'em."
Meanwhile, Akira lay sprawled on his hotel bed. He bounced a pillow off the ceiling out of boredom. That's when—
Knock. Knock.
Akira opened the door to see Sora and Gaku standing there in matching uniforms.
"Akira," Sora said sharply. "Get ready."
Akira shrugged, pinning the Yoru Kingdom emblem to his chest as he walked out. "Yeah, yeah. Where are we going?"
Gaku stared at him.
Sora sighed. "Do you not know what's happening? Scissors is attacking the Hunter Association HQ. All Hunters have been dispatched to respond."
Akira blinked. "All right, let's go."
Far across the city—
The pink-haired boy on the flying manta ray glided toward an abandoned warehouse, landing shakily. He stumbled off the creature, clutching his side as he limped toward a figure waiting in the shadows.
Kenji Sato.
The mastermind behind the false Scissors.
The boy nearly collapsed, clawing at the floor to get closer."A-Ah… I'm sorry. I failed your plans—"
Kenji cut him off. "Yes, thank you for the apology. But you and the rest of those people will die."
The boy froze. "…What?"
Kenji sighed, like explaining something obvious to a child."I told you the mark only ages you based on how much power you use. But come on. In the world of Taoists, nothing is ever that merciful."
He lifted his hand, showing the glowing symbol he'd carved months ago.
"When you activate that mark, you only have one year left to live."
The boy's face broke. Rage replaced fear. He pulled back his fist and swung —
But Kenji caught him effortlessly by the throat.
"You didn't even complete your mission," Kenji said with a disappointed sigh. He lifted the boy easily with one hand. "Kids these days… so ungrateful."
He dropped him like garbage on the warehouse floor.