Chapter Text
“Oi, Miyuki.”
“Hm?” Kazuya absently hummed, shoving two hands inside his pocket as he and Kuramochi walked down the hallway of their school, which was filled with busy chattering students who had gotten out of their classes.
“I heard that the new trainees are coming tonight,” Kuramochi told him, eyes fixed forward to avoid colliding with other students.
“How fast,” Kazuya remarked a bit distractedly, eyeing several half-bust statues near the ginormous stained-glass windows along the hallway. He altered his gaze towards the low-hanging chandeliers from the high Victorian ceiling and frowned.
There was a low-level spirit peering from between the slender candles in a form of a girl with a horse body. It was an Amos, a spirit known for being mischievous and flirty. A long, sharp horn was visible on her forehead, slightly cracked at the tip. Amos snickered when Kazuya noticed its presence, showing off its canines.
“Yeah, I think it had something to do with the increasing numbers of spirits these days,” Kuramochi retorted, before his steps faltered. He followed Kazuya’s line of vision and scowled. “Tch, another spirit?”
“Should we ignore it?” Kazuya asked, sighing. “I mean, it’s just a low-level spirit.”
“The same low-level spirit who stole our dorm’s supply of food!” Kuramochi’s scowl deepened at the memory. “Killing that shit is the only option here.”
“So cruel, Mochi,” Kazuya smirked. He could see some students around them getting agitated even though they might not know why, as spirit sensitivity varied widely from person to person, ranging from being able to sense, to see, to communicate, and to touch. Spirit hunters, like Kazuya and Kuramochi, were required to have a high sensitivity, which would help them exorcise the spirits, but most were only able to see the spirits. Those who could communicate or touch the spirits without any exorcism mediums were actually considered gifted.
And as a person who could communicate with the spirits, Kazuya wasn’t sure to call himself gifted—that ability hadn’t really benefited him in any way other than giving him an additional headache. He’d like very much to sleep without hearing some spirits gossiping near his dorm room, thank you very much.
At least his ability was limited to communicating only, and not touching nor getting touched. Spirits were essentially transparent to humans, so they could only be killed with specialized exorcist weapons. Besides, the case of a human getting physical with a spirit was only written in many school books.
However, that didn’t mean Kazuya wouldn’t make use of his so-called gift—he had no qualms of trash-talking his human bullies back in middle school, so provoking spirits turned out to be something that Kazuya enjoyed as well.
Kuramochi was right about Kazuya having a twisted personality.
“Shut up,” Kuramochi’s voice drew him from his thoughts. “Anyway, go provoke that spirit to come down here and slash it or whatever.”
Kazuya would gladly acquiesce in any other circumstances, but after a moment of observing Amos, he swallowed down a cringe at its attempts to flirt with him; evident by how it kept on gnawing its lower lip and sent scandalous winks his way.
“Uh, no, thanks,” Kazuya refused flatly. “Why don’t you be a good friend and take care of it for me, ‘Mochi?” He then feigned a grateful expression before continuing, “What was that? You’ll gladly do it? As expected from our greatest axeman~”
“What the fuck?” Kuramochi snarled. “I never said yes, you asshole!”
Suddenly, the spirit was caught flying behind a statue placed near a group of oblivious girls. Amos giggled madly, canines peeking out of its mouth, before it pushed the statue towards the girls.
But Kazuya was faster.
Years of training as a spirit hunter had rewarded him with quick reflexes, so it took him less than five seconds to reach his destination and rush past the girls to put the statue back in place.
“Pardon me,” he said, giving a polite smile. He glanced at the spirit who gaped in disbelief.
“O-oh my god, it’s Miyuki-senpai from the Spirit Hunter Club—!” One of the girls widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her palm.
“Ah—yeah, that’s me.” Kazuya’s smile faltered slightly, feeling a bit awkward upon being recognized. Damn, he was never good with strangers.
The spirit beside him growled in irritation, sputtering out a litany of curses that Kazuya unfortunately understood thanks to his ‘gift’. The girls before him remained oblivious, but even with their low spirit sensitivity, their body language showed that they could sense something was wrong. “Say, can you do me a favor? Some spirits have been behaving—“
As if on cue, Amos lurched forward. The intensity of its wrath startled the girls despite being unable to see its form.
Kazuya didn’t bat an eye and summoned a bright white light shaped like a rod out of thin air. He casually gripped the base as the light vanished, revealing a katana, its blade engraved with an intricate dragon pattern.
“—badly around us lately—” he continued his words, deft fingers twirling the katana’s handle, and slashed the spirit without turning his head. There was a hiss from his side, and he knew without looking that Amos was evaporating into black ash. “—so I need all of you to go home quickly. What do you say?” Kazuya’s faux, polite smile was back on his face as he let his katana dissipate into another white light.
For some unknown reason, the girls before him were blushing to the roots of their hair while nodding vigorously.
“S-sure, Miyuki-senpai! Thank you for saving us!” a girl voiced out shakily, dragging her stupefied friends away from Kazuya’s sight.
“You done entertaining your fangirls?” Kuramochi grumbled as he approached the swordsman.
“Is the spirit included?” Kazuya smirked, walking ahead of the dumbfounded axeman.
“Oh, God. Please tell me that you were joking about a spirit trying to court you.” Kuramochi matched his pace, face twisted into a disgusted expression.
Kazuya cackled as they eventually arrived at the familiar path to the Spirit Dorm, passing the old fountain at the front park, before the sight of the grand Victorian exterior of the mansion greeted them.
“I wouldn’t exactly say court – “
“Either way,” Kuramochi interjected, pushing the door to the main lobby, “the fact that you’re also popular among dead people amazes me.”
“Amos’ are naturally flirty, y’know?” Kazuya rolled his eyes. “And spirits aren’t dead people,” he added, climbing up one of the twin stairs of the lobby. Kuramochi followed suit, shrugging.
“Yeah, well, nobody knows shit about the afterlife, but there’s a theory saying that we turn into spirits after we die.”
Kazuya whistled, “I didn’t know your brain could handle such philosophical discussions, Kuramochi.”
Kuramochi whirled around so that he was walking backward while pointing a finger at Kazuya, who in turn arched an eyebrow. “Just so you know, bastard, some of my grades are higher than you!”
“Yes, yes, professor.” Kazuya waved him off.
Then, a shiver ran up his spine. Kazuya stopped on his tracks, chestnut eyes dilating as he inspected his vicinity. Kuramochi, too, looked alarmed, obvious by how his shoulders tensed.
“Dude,” Kuramochi whispered slowly, a hint of dread in his voice. “I’ve never sensed something this powerful.”
Kazuya gulped, growing warier as seconds passed. This aura was nothing like he had ever encountered before—this was more intense and stronger. It was almost as if there was an upper-level spirit around.
Though, he could be wrong. Upper-level spirits—the most powerful and vengeful spirits out of the whole tiers—were known to hate crowded places. They’d usually be found in deserted areas, such as the deepest part of a cave or an ocean, unlike the mostly harmless low-level spirits which were more common to be spotted among humans. Kazuya’s safest assumption was that this aura belonged to a middle-level spirit—as the name suggested, they were more dangerous than the low-level ones, but they weren’t as misanthropic as the upper-level ones.
“I think it’s coming from that corner,” Kuramochi muttered, summoning his beloved weapon. A white light flashed for a fleeting moment, before revealing a massive, double-headed axe with rich embellishments on either side of its blade, its long metallic handle gripped tightly in Kuramochi’s hands.
Kazuya did the same, this time summoning two katanas. Truthfully, he’d never felt the need to summon his other sword, since all he’d been facing recently were low-level spirits. The last time he’d fought middle-level spirits was months ago.
Just how strong is this spirit? Kazuya mused with a mix of worry and excitement.
“It’s coming closer,” Kazuya informed his friend. They stayed still in a guarded stance, opting to hide behind the wall. There were some faint footsteps, muted due to the red carpet below, and that was enough of a cue for the spirit hunters to prepare an attack.
When its presence was just a few steps away, Kuramochi was the first one to jump out of his hiding and proceeded to swing his axe—
—only to stop himself midway.
“WHAT –?” a foreign voice screamed in surprise. “WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?!”
The spirit hunters exchanged puzzled glances with one another before dematerializing their weapons.
A guilty look passed Kuramochi’s face, but he refused to back down. “You’re the one who has this weird, suspicious aura, kid!”
“Wh—don’t be rude!! This Sawamura Eijun is not suspicious in any way!!”
Kazuya exhaled and decided to step in before there was an actual fight due to a small misunderstanding. He stepped out of the shadows and took a good look at his suspect, before his breath hitched in his throat.
There stood the cutest boy he’d ever seen. Big golden eyes stared back at him, beneath brown hair so messy that Kazuya had the urge to tame it with his hands. He was pouting adorably although he was also sporting a frown on his baby face. He wore the typical attire for Seidou students: a navy blue jacket with golden linings along its edge, a gold-blue striped tie, a white shirt underneath, and gray trousers below.
Physical appearance aside, Kazuya could still sense a powerful aura from this boy, but it felt... weird. Spirits usually emitted a cold aura, which could be sensed from this boy, yet at the same time, he also had the warm aura of a human.
Kazuya lessened their distance by intruding in the boy’s personal space, causing the latter to step backward.
“What are you doing?! I-I know karate, you bastard!!” he threatened while displaying a boxing stance—which was contradictory to his prior claim—but all Kazuya saw was just a hissing little kitten.
Kazuya held back a laugh—man, this brat was interesting—and pinched the younger boy’s chin, furrowing his brows as he scrutinized him.
Huh. If Kazuya could touch him and Kuramochi could communicate with him just fine, then this boy was a human.
A human with a strange aura, but he seemed too naïve to even have some evil plans to conquer this world.
Releasing his grip from the suddenly blushing boy, Kazuya spoke up. “Okay, brat, tell us why you’re here.”
The boy straightened up and gave a military salute. “Oh, uhh, my name’s Sawamura Eijun and I’m here as a new trainee for the Spirit Hunter Club!!” Eijun bowed deeply, almost crashing his head against Kazuya’s body. The older boy winced at his enthusiasm. “I’m supposed to place my belongings in my dorm room, but I’m currently lost, so,” he clapped his hands in front of his chest with a sheepish grin, “please help me?”
Kuramochi sighs. “What’s your dorm room number?”
“Um... I think it’s room 5,” Eijun answers.
Kuramochi instantly choked. Great. Now Kazuya really had trouble holding his laugh.
“It’s that way,” Kazuya jabbed a thumb towards the opposite side of the correct path, plastering his most neutral face.
Eijun immediately fell into his trap, beaming happily—it almost made Kazuya retract his words and admit that he was lying. “Thank you! Then I shall take my leave!” he bowed once again before sprinting in the direction Kazuya had pointed at.
Once Kazuya couldn’t feel his aura again, he allowed a wholehearted chortle to escape his mouth as he clutched his stomach.
“You’re trash,” Kuramochi stated, clearly unimpressed.
“He looks fun to tease.” Kazuya sent him an unrepentant smirk. “Right?”
“How am I supposed to know?” The axeman snorted. Then, a wicked grin spread on his lips. “On a second thought, there’s one way to find out...”
Eijun almost regretted leaving his friends and going to Seidou.
He’d been content living in a country, enjoying the simple lifestyle and the easygoing atmosphere, until his parents urged him to take a scholarship test at Seidou. Eijun relented easily at that time, thinking that there was no way he’d get accepted there. Seidou was one of the schools known for its Spirit Hunter Club. It was monitored directly by the government and the Professional Spirit Hunters’ Agency. Thus the thought of becoming a Seidou student was like seeing a castle in the air.
However, like a plot twist in his beloved manga, he got accepted anyway.
He found out that while he did poorly on the general academic test, he did really well on the spirit hunter trainee selection. Now that he thought about it, the test was relatively easy. The Sawamuras had had a high contribution to the world of exorcism. Perhaps, this path was destined for him, since exorcism was the only thing that he was good at (having to hear it outrightly from his family and Wakana still hurt a little, though). So here he was, alone in Tokyo.
What he didn’t expect was how shitty his first day was.
He somehow got lost. It wasn’t his fault that Seidou was really spacious and big! The moment he saw the school’s exterior—which looked a lot like an old cathedral—he already had a bad hunch regarding this damned elite school. His suspicion was confirmed when he entered the building, cold sweat forming on his back. Every huge pillar looked all the same, and the hallway seemed endless; it slightly scared him. Thankfully, the hallway wasn’t dimly lit like the horror movies Wakana would force him to watch. The detailed ornaments on the ceilings and the walls, the beautiful paintings, and the constant chattering of students were enough to create a friendly environment.
(Eijun hated the endless, creepy medieval knight statues on the way to the canteen though.)
He ended up getting lost even at the dorm, which was basically a manor. And like the school building, it had a total of three stories—Eijun couldn’t possibly remember each nook and cranny on the very first day.
Even so, he couldn’t deny that getting lost had its advantages, too. His country bumpkin side was unfailingly amazed by the interiors of the buildings. He also managed to stumble upon the many facilities that the dorm provided—such as a laundry room, a dining room, an indoor training ground, an indoor hot spring that served as the communal bath, and many more.
Thank God he was on a full scholarship.
Admittedly, some of the rooms that Eijun had found were a result of that bespectacled bastard’s false direction. The same bastard who was currently standing right across him, winking with an infuriating smirk when their eyes met.
Eijun’s pupils morphed into cat-like slits and he gritted his teeth—the nerve of that conniving tanuki! Just because he was kind of hot, he thought he could get away with his lie! Of course Eijun wouldn’t forgive him that easily; it had taken him another hour to finally reach his dorm room! The moss-haired senpai, who turned out to be his roommate, had even gone as far as making a scary face with fake blood the second Eijun had stepped into the room.
When Eijun had thought he could finally get some rest, their teachers had called the first years to gather inside the indoor training ground.
Eijun was starting to really regret coming to Seidou.
“Good evening,” a man grunted, silencing the whole crowd with only two words. He seemed scarier than moss-haired senpai, although Eijun kept on wondering why on earth he was wearing sunglasses inside an indoor room. Eijun’s exhausted mind couldn’t really keep up with what he was saying, but apparently, his name was Kataoka-sensei. He and the woman beside him—Takashima-sensei, wasn’t it?—were the qualified Professional Spirit Hunters Eijun’s parents once had talked about. The other two men standing beside them were Ochiai-sensei, another trainer, and Oota-sensei, one of the managers of the club.
“Now, it’s time for all of you to introduce yourself,” Takashima-sensei said with a smile. “We’d like to hear your name and your fighting style. You’re allowed to summon your weapon.”
Wait, weapon? Eijun thought in panic. He watched in fascination as the first years summoned their battle weapons, varying from long-ranged to close-ranged weapons. The most common weapons were swords and daggers, so it surprised Eijun when a sleepy-looking, tall guy summoned a spear.
“Isn’t he Furuya Satoru?” a fellow first-year whispered to his friend. “The one who got the highest score on the combat test?”
“Yeah, he’s more likely to get into the first division than us,” a dejected voice said.
Eijun’s blood boiled. He was almost tempted to join in the conversation and chastise them for being so pessimistic, if not for the pink-haired boy summoning his weapon right from beside Eijun.
Eijun gaped. This boy, who was smaller and shorter than Eijun, used a scythe.
“Kominato Haruichi,” he told Takashima-sensei his name with a meek smile. “I’ve been using a scythe as my weapon.”
“Interesting!” Oota-sensei suddenly chimed in. “Are you, by chance, Kominato Ryousuke-kun’s little brother?”
Haruichi stuttered a bit and nodded, before glancing at a pink-haired senpai who was displaying a terrifying, thin smile.
Why are Tokyo people so scary?! Eijun wailed inwardly.
“Excuse me, it’s your turn.” Haruichi then nudged Eijun’s side gently. The latter whipped his head quickly to the teachers, who were looking at him expectantly.
“AH, YES!” Eijun shouted, automatically giving his trademark military salute. He could hear the stifled laughter from moss-haired senpai and that annoying tanuki. “Please forgive my impudence! My name is Sawamura Eijun, and I aim to save the world by becoming the best spirit hunter!”
At that, most room occupants almost failed to hold their snickers. Eijun glared a burning hole towards the tanuki bastard who was covering his mouth with shaking shoulders.
“Who is he, a manga protagonist?” moss-haired senpai said in-between his laughter.
“We appreciate your eagerness, Sawamura-kun,” Takashima-sensei commented, eyes gleaming with amusement, “and now we’re more than intrigued to know the weapon of your choice.”
Eijun huffed. “I don’t use any weapons, ma’am!!”
Takashima-sensei immediately raised an eyebrow, and Eijun ignored the mocking whispers of other trainees (“How would you save the world without a weapon?” “Hahaha, is he dumb?”). “Do enlighten us of your fighting style without a weapon, Sawamura-kun.”
“Uh – “ Eijun chewed on his bottom lip, uncertain on how to explain his case. Perhaps, he should’ve just quoted what his grandfather had told him about his powers. Yeah, that could work. “This Sawamura Eijun relies on his inner power, ma’am!!”
A beat, before most people in the room burst into laughter. Eijun’s face burned in embarrassment, red creeping up to his neck, face, and ears. Why were they laughing?! He was just answering Takashima-sensei’s question honestly! What was so funny about that?!
“My stomach hurts!” the tanuki bastard wheezed as moss-haired senpai slapped his back while also folding his body in half.
Kataoka-sensei’s mouth twitched albeit his face remained impassive before his stern voice interrupted the moment. “That’s enough, Sawamura. We will proceed to the next person.”
Eijun could only sulk the entire time until the meeting ended.
For a whole week, the new trainees did not touch a single spirit—not even the low-level ones—instead of doing some physical training and additional theory classes, which frustrated Eijun to no end. It didn’t help that some of the first years kept on giving him condescending looks. Two people had even referred to him as ‘the weaponless idiot who wants to save the world’ when he passed by.
Usually, Eijun would love to shut them up with his fists—something that his middle-school self had done whenever someone bullied Nobu or his other childhood friends. However, Seidou had made him realize that he probably wouldn’t stand a chance with these people since he wasn’t the only one whose family had a long history with exorcism. And grandpa had promised him a good slap if Eijun got kicked out merely due to some fistfights.
So Eijun paid no mind to them and held his chin high, like now.
He was walking alone to the indoor communal bath, humming an old song that he liked to sing with his father. The practice had ended early tonight to give them enough rest time. Kataoka-sensei had hinted at a different regimen for the next practice which may or may not be related to actual exorcism, fueling a fire inside Eijun. He was always up for some butt-kicking, after all.
When he was about to turn to a corner, Haruichi and Furuya popped up beside him, slightly startling him.
“Eijun-kun,” Haruichi greeted with a smile, bringing a basket of toiletries with a folded towel on top of it. Furuya didn’t say anything as he carried his own belongings, but the glint in his eyes showed his acknowledgment of Eijun’s presence.
“Harucchi!” Eijun beamed at his first friend in the club, then glowered at Furuya, his—rival, if Eijun could call him one. It wasn’t Eijun’s fault; ever since knowing that Eijun could fight without a weapon, Furuya had been trying to beat him every time they had practice. Gladly, Eijun returned the favor, since Furuya was one of the few trainees who practically didn’t look down on Eijun’s fighting style. “Furuya, you bastard! Say anything!”
Furuya pretended to not hear him and walked forward.
“Anyway,” Haruichi cut them off, “have both of you tried the indoor hot spring?”
“No,” Furuya said curtly, while Eijun sighed dramatically.
“It was always crowded with the upperclassmen.” He pouted. “And this Sawamura Eijun couldn’t spare some leisure time to soak in it due to our grueling practice!!”
Haruichi smiled. “I think we’ll be able to use it today. It’s not going to be packed, since the first division members are out on a night patrol.”
“They do night patrols too?” Eijun asked, steps faltering as they reached a big, wooden door. He pushed it open, then stepped aside to let the others enter the changing room connected to the indoor hot spring.
“Yes, night patrols are usually assigned for the second division members while the first division members are sent on small missions outside of Seidou,” Haruichi explained as the boys stripped their clothes and tied their towels around the waist. “But aniki said there’s been an alarming increase in spirits since the new semester started, so they have no choice but to lend a hand as well.”
“Heeeh,” Eijun said thoughtfully, absorbing the information into his brain. The trio headed to the indoor hot spring and chose their respective seats below the shower heads to scrub the dirt off of their bodies. “You’re lucky to have a brother who’s already in the first division. You know so much information from him, Harucchi!”
“It’s not that special,” Haruichi remarked. “You seem close with You-san and Miyuki-senpai. Maybe you can ask them anything too, Eijun-kun.”
“You-san and Miyuki-senpai?” Eijun blinked in puzzlement. “Who?”
Haruichi almost fell from his seat before he observed Eijun’s face, perhaps to search for a sign whether he was joking or not. Unfortunately, Eijun was dead serious about not recognizing those names.
“Isn’t You-san your roommate?” Haruichi questioned, sounding a little unimpressed.
“Ah, you mean Kuramochi-senpai!” Eijun said loudly, earning a head shake from the pink-haired boy. At his reaction, Eijun whined. “How would I know if you called him that, Harucchi?! Don’t blame me!”
Haruichi abashedly scratched his nose. “Well... You-san is aniki’s boyfriend, so I’ve known him even before I got accepted here.”
Both Furuya and Eijun’s mouths unknowingly shaped like an ‘o’ at the information.
“Then..” Eijun began again, stopping his scrubbing movement on his leg. “Who is this Miyuki-senpai?”
“Miyuki Kazuya-senpai,” Furuya piped up, staring at Eijun coolly. “He’s the glasses senpai that you always talk to.”
Eijun’s face turned sour at the realization. “So Miyuki Kazuya is that tanuki bastard’s name!” he grumbled, vivid memories of Kazuya teasing and making fun of him whenever they met in the hallway were fresh in his mind. He was so aggravating that Eijun hadn’t bothered to search for his name.
“T-tanuki bastard?” Haruichi smiled nervously, reaching for the showerhead to wash his hair. “Are you sure you can call him that?”
“Why?” the brunette fired back. “Is there a reason why I can’t? Is that tanuki a special student or something?” He gasped at the hypothetical scenario inside his head. “Is he the principal’s kid so that I can’t mess with him although he bullies me so much, Harucchi?! Is that it?!”
“I-I don’t think that’s the case...” Haruichi sighed. “I’m surprised you don’t know him. He’s kind of popular since he single-handedly exorcised a horde of middle-level spirits back in his first year.”
“There are several articles about him,” Furuya muttered, letting the water from the showerhead cascade down to his body. “I went to Seidou partially because of him.”
Eijun pursed his lips. So that tanuki bastard was that good if he could make someone come to Seidou because of his skills. Pushing aside Kazuya’s annoying personality, Eijun couldn’t deny that he was curious to see him in a real fight someday.
Then, several small papers with unreadable symbols glued on the wall caught Eijun’s attention.
“Ne, Harucchi, what are those?”
Someone who certainly was not Haruichi snorted from behind him. Eijun turned his neck to properly see the figures behind the thin steam emitted by the hot spring.
“K-Kanemaru? Toujou?” Eijun gasped, to which Toujou gave him a small smile.
“I can’t believe that you’re dumber than I thought,” Kanemaru stated, crossing his arms in front of his chest, ignoring Toujou’s scolding exclamation of ‘Shinji!’.
“What the hell did you mean by that?!” Eijun bellowed, cat-eyed, not expecting an insult thrown out of the blue.
Kanemaru clicked his tongue. “You said it yourself that you want to save the world, idiot,” he said grumpily. “How can you not know incantation papers?”
“Incantation papers have many functions, but these ones work as a barrier for the spirits,” Toujou explained helpfully, leaning against the rocky edge of the hot spring. Eijun immediately blanched at the information. “They’re commonly sold to households, schools, and offices. They’re only effective at protecting smaller vicinities, like how Seidou uses them for classes and toilets.”
“W-well, I’ve never really seen one in Nagano...” Eijun muttered under his breath. Geez, if he knew a such convenient alternative existed, he wouldn’t have spent his time exorcising low-level spirits every night before he slept in Nagano. Then, he remembered Toujou’s prior words. “Wait, what kind of spirits can these papers hold?”
“Anything except the upper-level ones,” Kanemaru grunted. He quirked an eyebrow when he saw Eijun releasing a relieved breath.
“What happens if a spirit tries to break the barrier, anyway?” Eijun curiously asked again as he stood up from his seat. Haruichi and Furuya were already walking towards the hot spring, face flushed due to the steam.
“I’m not sure,” Toujou replied, scooting over to make room for the other two first years. Haruichi sighed in contentment, and Furuya closed his eyes as soon as they soaked half of their body inside the warm, soothing water. Seeing their pleased reactions, Eijun eagerly approached the hot spring.
“I saw a video about it,” Kanemaru answered, the wrinkle of his face gradually disappearing and voice softening. He began to feel more relaxed than before. “I don’t know about the middle-level ones, but if I recalled correctly, the low-level spirits would get burned – “
“Ow!”
The new trainees whipped their heads towards a wincing Eijun who had just retracted his leg from the hot spring.
“Eijun-kun, what’s wrong?” Haruichi’s voice was laced with slight concern.
“What water is this?!” Eijun groused, dipping his finger inside once again only to feel the same sensation. “It’s—it’s boiling!!”
The others looked at each other in confusion.
“But it’s not that hot,” Furuya told him, cupping the water in his palms and letting it fall again.
“Aniki said this particular water is cast with incantations and prayers,” Haruichi said, “in other words, it’s the Holy Water –” he paused upon noticing Eijun’s lack of response. “– Eijun-kun? You look pale...”
His question instantly snapped Eijun out of his shock, to which he covered it quickly with his usual loud laugh. “Oh! Ahahaha! You really know everything, Harucchi! Of course it’s the Holy Water!”
“Oi, Bakamura, you do know about Holy Water, right?” Kanemaru furrowed his brows in displeasure.
Eijun jutted out his lower lip. He wasn’t that stupid—Holy Water was the most basic knowledge that even non-Spirit Hunters know about. It had the power to neutralize diseases and quicken the healing process of wounds caused by supernatural beings. It could even serve as the last defense, utilizing its burning effect on spirits. It was also used for other types of exorcism rituals that Eijun had never bothered to learn about, as he had never felt the need to.
A crestfallen expression fell onto Eijun’s face.
“Sawamura?” Toujou called him hesitantly.
“I-I suddenly don’t feel good!” Eijun laughed nervously and faked a sneeze, followed by a couple of coughs. Kanemaru grimaced, unconvinced. “Maybe I’ll try the hot spring another day! Ahahah!” He robotically tied the towel around his waist.
“Then I shall bid my farewell!!” was the last thing Eijun exclaimed before sprinting towards the changing room, leaving behind four clueless teenagers.
“Such an interesting kid.”
Kazuya couldn’t help but lift the corner of his mouth into a small smirk at Ryousuke’s comment. If he were to choose someone who had the closest personality to his, it’d be the pink-haired spirit hunter. They might not show it, but there were times that they’d had the same line of thinking. And one of them was now.
“So you’ve also noticed it,” Kazuya drawled, observing Eijun who was excitedly chatting with Ryousuke’s younger brother and a drowsy, tall trainee. They were currently gathered at the dorm’s outdoor training field, safely surrounded by sakura trees that would make the area even more beautiful during cherry blossom season. Some new trainees were on their way from the dorm, carefully following the paved walkway in the dark.
(Kazuya had also almost tripped earlier, to which Kuramochi had given him a good laugh. Blame the minimal lighting that the school provided around this area.)
“With an aura that intense, it’s impossible not to,” Ryousuke quipped.
“Are you talking about Bakamura?” Kuramochi joined in from his boyfriend’s side. “Hyahaha! He’s been stealing the spotlight since he claimed that he can’t use any weapons.”
“You know,” Kazuya began as he rested his back against the nearest tree. “He could be a spellbook user like Chris-senpai.”
“That dumbass? A spellbook user?” Kuramochi made a face. “No offense, but he doesn’t seem to be the type.”
Objectively speaking, perhaps Kuramochi had a point. Not all spirit hunters were smart enough to use spellbooks in a fight, hence why such a fighting style was rare. Unlike actual weapons, spellbook users had to be able to memorize thousands of spells and understand which spells suited best for different situations. Spellbook users usually consisted of people with the ability to stay focused for a long time.
Considering how short-tempered Eijun was sometimes, logically, the idea of Eijun as a spellbook user was ludicrous.
Ryousuke karate-chopped the side of Kuramochi’s neck, but Kazuya knew that it was done gently. “You know better than to judge a book by its cover, isn’t it right, Youichi?”
Kuramochi pursed his lips, rubbing the back of his head. “Uh.. yeah, my bad, Ryou-san.”
Kazuya chuckled at their exchange, before Kataoka-sensei and Takashima-sensei abruptly emerged from the darkness, clad in their usual professional spirit hunter attire: a long, black, leather trench coat.
“Oh, I guess it’s already show time.” Kazuya grinned to himself. He watched from afar as the head trainer briefed the first years about their schedule tonight, and his smirk widened when the new trainees let out an energetic “yes, sir!” at Kataoka’s inquiry.
Watching rookies was always fun for Kazuya. It was entertaining to distinguish each of their reactions—some acted tough, some looked ambitious, and some couldn’t hide their nervousness.
He couldn’t wait to see their expressions when they saw the first division members in action later; after all, Kataoka didn’t request their presence for nothing. Once every year, experienced students—mainly the first division members—would show off their fighting style in front of the new trainees, in the hopes that they would learn a thing or two before they involved themselves in a battle. The trainers would also allow the experienced students to step in should something go wrong, which was also a form of training for them. The trainers were only there to supervise. All in all, the system was quite effective.
“First division members, prepare yourselves!” Kataoka-sensei’s voice boomed throughout the area. The first division members bellowed a firm “yes!” as Takashima-sensei muttered a short spell to activate the four incantation papers in her hand. The papers then flew to four different spots, creating a shape of a rectangle. With a snap of her fingers, a translucent, purple barrier was formed around the students.
“Oooooh!” Eijun hollered, golden eyes twinkling in amazement. “Did you see that, Harucchi?!” He tugged at Haruichi’s jacket.
“E-Eijun-kun...” his friend said warningly with a hint of embarrassment.
Kazuya let out a low laugh. What a dumb, pure kid.
Takashima-sensei proceeded to step out of the barrier. “As you can see, humans can pass through the barrier just fine,” she explained as she positioned herself in the middle of the training field. “This is where the spirit will be summoned and you are expected to fight only within this area. Keep in mind that your fight will be timed to assess the effectiveness of your plan, so avoid making unnecessary moves.”
When Takashima-sensei mumbled another spell, there was a flash of bright light from below. The ground was now adorned with a big incantation circle that Kazuya recognized as a summoning circle.
“First division members,” Takashima-sensei directed her gaze to them, “you are free to start whenever you are ready.” She walked back to Kataoka’s side.
Frankly, not all the first division members were present tonight, since those who were here had basically been chosen as representatives based on their weapons. Therefore, whoever wanted to start first didn’t really matter. After hearing that tonight’s opponent would be a low-level spirit, Kazuya just knew that they would finish it in a blink of an eye.
“Well then, shall I?” Ryousuke volunteered as he stepped out of the barrier, smiling calmly. A familiar white light was emitted as Ryousuke summoned his weapon, soon gripping the handle of his double-bladed polearm.
Jun shivered beside Kazuya. “Damn.. that weapon never fails to scare me,” he grouched. There were grunts of acquiescence from the others. Kazuya inwardly agreed; Kominato Ryousuke equipped with any weapon was already terrifying, but that double-bladed polearm was literally the last straw.
Standing before the summoning circle, Ryousuke then nodded towards Takashima-sensei as a sign that he was ready. The trainer wasted no time in making a hand sign. The summoning circle glowed again before a spirit appeared with a puff of smoke.
The new trainees collectively gasped when the smoke cleared.
Kazuya whistled. “Arachnae, huh?” He smirked.
It was a spider spirit with a face of a human baby with many eyes, its size thrice that of an ordinary human despite being a low-level spirit. It could shoot a sticky slime that would make your skin itch, but it wasn’t poisonous. Ironically, it didn’t have the ability of a spider, such as producing spider webs, which was a relief.
“Go!” Kataoka-sensei yelled. Takashima-sensei began timing the fight.
Ryousuke, however, stayed in his place and merely threw his double-bladed polearm, cutting off the spirit’s head before it landed upright on the ground, one blade stabbing the earth. Arachnae hadn’t even finished its screeching before it evaporated into black ash.
“Ryousuke-kun took 3 seconds,” Takashima-sensei informed them with a smile.
The new trainees instantly erupted into whispers and applause as Ryousuke made his way back to his initial position.
“Don’t get turned on, ‘Mochi~,” Kazuya teased the dumbstruck axeman.
“Fuck off,” Kuramochi hissed with a scowl as he separated himself from other first division members. “Now, if you’ll fucking excuse me.”
“Oooh, Kuramochi-senpai! Seidou’s greatest axeman is about to show you what he’s capable of!!” Eijun shouted excitedly, earning a death glare from an embarrassed Kuramochi.
After hearing Kataoka’s cue, another puff of smoke appeared, followed by the same Arachnae. Apparently, Kuramochi had chosen to stand behind the Arachnae even before it was summoned, which allowed him to jump onto the Arachnae’s body with ease and chop off the head with his axe.
“Kuramochi-kun spends 2.8 seconds,” Takashima announced, prompting the new trainees to burst into applause once more.
(“Cheetah! He’s a cheetah, I tell you!” Eijun said with stars in his eyes. “How can he move so fast while carrying such a heavy axe?! That’s one of the world’s greatest mysteries that has yet to be unveiled!!”
“Can’t you shut up for a second!” Kanemaru protested as he kicked the side of Eijun’s leg.)
True to Kazuya’s prediction, the rest of the available first division members also spent less than fifteen seconds to exorcise the spirit. Time seemed to pass quickly as they took their turns one-by-one, complemented with Eijun’s loud commentaries (“That Spitz-senpai really knows how to swing that heavy-looking broad-bladed sword!!” “Harucchi, what’s that weapon called?” “Oooh! She slashed it one go! Just how sharp is her spear?!” “Oi, Furuya, take notes from her! Who’s her name again...? Err, Takako-senpai..?”). Honestly, Kazuya had no problems going last, but the others thought otherwise.
“Um... Who’s next?” Nori asked after he’d finished, de-summoning his bow.
“You should take your turn now.” Shirasu patted Kazuya’s back. “Judging by how some new trainees keep on glancing here, I’m sure they’ve been anticipating your fight.”
“Aww, but your guns are way cooler, Shirasu.” Kazuya grinned, but he allowed himself to be pushed forward by Shirasu, who was rolling his eyes.
His short walk to the middle of the field was accompanied by murmurs from the new trainees. Oddly enough, Kazuya didn’t hear any comments from Eijun, and he wasn’t sure what to feel about it, although that should be expected—why would Eijun associate himself with someone who always tried to rile him up whenever he had the chance to?
Once Kazuya chose a spot before the summoning circle, he summoned one of his katanas and nodded in Kataoka’s direction.
“Go!”
What happened next probably couldn’t be followed by ordinary human eyes.
The moment the bright light blinded everyone’s visions, Kazuya ran forward, blending himself with the thick smoke that emanated afterward.
When the area was cleared out, Kazuya was already de-summoning his katana, a hand in his pocket. The Arachnae was nowhere in sight, and all that was left was the vaporizing black ash.
“It’s... it’s already gone?”
“He’s killed it?”
“I couldn’t see a thing!”
“Miyuki-kun spends 1.10 seconds,” Takashima-sensei announced. There was a pregnant pause before the crowd exploded into the loudest cheers yet.
“Bastard! Didn’t you beat your last record of 1.28 seconds?” Jun inquired heatedly when Kazuya came back.
“He’s just lucky to have flexible shoulders,” Kuramochi said.
“Right, right,” Kazuya dismissed them, not really being a fan of being the center of attention. The new trainees were still whispering about him even when it was Shirasu’s turn (he had an inkling that this was what Shirasu had been gunning for when he encouraged Kazuya to go before him. After all, Shirasu was known to be a ‘silent killer’; his fighting style wasn’t flashy but his aim was always precise and effective).
Though, among all of the whispers and praises, somehow Kazuya only got goosebumps from the intense stare that he received from a certain golden-eyed trainee.
Before he knew it, the first division members had all finished their turns and were allowed to sit to watch the new trainees. Kazuya plopped down onto the grassy side of the field right next to Kuramochi. The sky was exceptionally clear today; no clouds were hanging around to shield the light of the crescent moon, which was just bright enough to cast a soft illumination around the field. The night breeze was quite chilly, although that didn’t dampen everyone’s general mood in the slightest.
From the corner of his eye, Kazuya was able to see Kataoka talking to the new trainees, voice too low to be heard from Kazuya’s spot, before returning to the sidelines.
“Man, I hope they won’t be taking too long,” Kuramochi said tiredly after observing them.
“I hope someone won’t get injured,” from the other side, Nori commented with a worried face.
“What matters is whether they can put a good show or not, isn’t it?” Ryousuke piped up with a sweet voice, earning a chuckle from Kazuya.
“The personality clash is too blatant here,” somewhere, Shirasu muttered under his breath.
Light footsteps piqued everyone’s attention when a brave first year finally decided to open the event. It was, rather unexpectedly, Kominato Haruichi, who was deemed as a meek student, appearance-wise. Though, Kazuya had a feeling that he was more like a fox disguised as a sheep, given the fact that he was a Kominato. Stopping in the middle of the field, Haruichi was a bit red under his long pink bangs, but his stance was confident. He summoned his scythe before nodding towards Kataoka.
“Here we go! We will now watch how the spirit is slain by the one and only, Kominato Haruhiko, the death angel!” Eijun yelled, one fist raised into the air.
The moment Arachnae popped out with a cloud of smoke, Haruichi expertly whirled his scythe to clear the air. From beneath his bangs, his rosegold eyes gleamed before he ran to the left side of the spirit. Arachnae hissed, shooting green slime in his direction. Haruichi, however, was fast enough to dodge it, prompting the spirit to shriek in vexation. Running towards the direction of the spirit’s blind spot, Haruichi managed to successfully slice the spirit’s head off its body.
“Haruichi-kun spends 23 seconds,” Takashima informed them, receiving appreciative claps from the crowd, including the first division members.
“Your brother’s not bad for a new trainee,” Kuramochi told Ryousuke with a grin.
“Believe me, he still has a long way to go.” Ryousuke shrugged, although he was displaying an uncharacteristically broad smile.
Haruichi’s performance seemed to fuel more fire among the trainees. With newfound confidence, one after another stepped out of the barrier. A small argument would occur if two trainees coincidentally stepped forward at the same time, but it was nothing too serious.
Despite their enthusiasm, the next trainees were, unfortunately, not as promising as Haruichi, as they were average at best. Most of them spent one to two minutes exorcising the spirit, due to their sloppy movements. Moreover, their weapon of choice - swords - was the most common type of weapon that a spirit hunter could use. Even so, none of them used katana like Kazuya. Perhaps it had something to do with how sacred katanas actually were, or that there weren’t many talented blacksmiths in this century who were able to repair broken katanas.
Nonetheless, they made up for the lack of their technical skills by proving that they had at least learned something from the first division members: to aim for the Arachnae’s baby head, which was its vital point—fairly similar to humans.
Thankfully, before Kazuya could yawn in boredom, the rumored monster rookie took his turn and ended it in just 16 seconds—almost reaching the lowest record of a first division member.
(“He’s fast, but he seems to invest too much energy in his movements,” Takako-senpai, an experienced spear user, explained when the others asked about her assessment. “I’m afraid he’d just tire himself in long fights.”)
Other than him, the rest of the new trainees who, admittedly, had potentials, were two guys named Kanemaru, a falchion sword user, and Toujou, a crossbow user. Unlike last year, there weren’t any trainees who went overboard, maybe not yet, but there was a trainee who needed a little help from a first division member—Jun was very proud of his stunt—when his fight dragged on too long. Those who got small injuries, bruises and itches caused by the slime were immediately taken care of by some second division members who specialized in the supernatural medical field.
Unable to hold it back much longer, Kuramochi yawned loudly. “Ugh, this sucks. I just wanna go to bed already,” he complained.
“I think most of them are done, yeah?” Jun asked while staring thoughtfully at the new trainees. “It ought to be done for another 15 minutes or so.”
“Perhaps all of you are forgetting someone.”
Kazuya smirked lazily when several questioning eyes were directed at him, except for Ryousuke who merely smiled knowingly.
“Huh? Who are you talkin’ about?” Jun squinted.
“Why, of course, our weaponless hero over there,” Kazuya retorted, gesturing over Eijun’s direction with his chin. Unaware of the sudden attention he received from the first division members, the younger boy was seen extending his arms hesitantly through the barrier, as if testing something. A weird demeanor for sure, but Eijun was nothing but a raw enigma in Kazuya’s eyes for now, so he didn’t bother to decipher each of Eijun’s actions further. Simply watching from afar was entertaining enough for him.
“What the hell is that idiot doing?” Kuramochi couldn’t help but ask under his breath.
After confirming something to himself, Eijun eventually jogged forward with an indisputable zealous grin—so wide that his gums were showing—and finally halted right in front of the summoning circle.
“I’m ready, boss!!” Eijun huffed from his nostrils. Kataoka’s eyebrow twitched, probably ticked off by the nickname, but firmly shouted the cue for Eijun to start.
The last Arachnae of the day was then summoned—Kazuya briefly wondered if Takashima was tired from summoning repeatedly, albeit he’d read somewhere that summoning low-level spirits didn’t require much energy, which was something that could be legally done by a Professional Spirit Hunter—and instinctively, Eijun jumped backward when the spirit spat the nasty slime out of its mouth.
Turns out, this Arachnae was unlike the other Arachnaes; it looked.. cautious and confused. It was as though it had no choice but to defend itself, evident by how it never once broke its gaze towards Eijun. Such a peculiar behavior for an Arachnae, for they were known to be quite intimidating and confident.
“Dammit, what’s up with this spirit? It’s more aggressive than the previous ones!” Eijun panted, doing an effortless backflip to avoid the slime shots. He landed on all fours, shoes accidentally kicking dust up to the air.
“Why isn’t he attacking back?” Nori asked no one in particular, eyes glued to Eijun who had only been running and dodging attacks.
“Don’t die yet, Bakamura!” Kuramochi shouted, his hard tone masking his slight concern.
“Geh!” Eijun scowled, finally standing upright at a much safer distance. “Of course I’m not gonna die here, of all places!”
He hadn’t even finished saying the last word when a golden light enveloped his whole body abruptly, causing everyone’s jaws to drop. It wasn’t the ordinary white light one would see from summoning weapons, circles, incantation papers activations, or any other exorcism-related activities. It was swirling around him like some sort of liquid, but it was also flickering like a flame.
Kazuya wasn’t sure what to call it. Was it light? Was it an aura? Then again, auras were supposed to be unseen, weren’t they? Was it—just what kind of power was that?
“Dude,” Kuramochi whispered slowly, before voicing out everyone’s current thoughts, “what the actual fuck.”
Kazuya could only watch as the wind blew stronger than usual, dry leaves dancing around Eijun. The sakura trees nearby rustled, some weak branches falling to the ground. The intensity of the wind was also sweeping Eijun’s hair rather endearingly but messily, revealing his forehead. His eyes glowed the same golden light while his brows tensed in concentration.
Directing his palm towards the Arachnae, the golden aura was then blanketed around its head. The spirit let out a frustrated high-pitched screech. Face crumpled in sheer focus, Eijun proceeded to make a rotating gesture with his wrist, as if attempting to twist the head of its body.
There was a loud crack resounding in the air after that.
He didn’t just do that, Kazuya thought with an excited grin, heart pulsating rapidly inside his rib cages for some vague reason—probably due to the adrenaline rush he usually felt from watching a good fight.
As if it wasn’t enough, Eijun certainly exceeded Kazuya’s expectation by closing his open palm into a clenched fist. Instantly, lasers of lights passed through every hole available—eyes, ears, nose, mouth—on the baby’s head. The flesh of its skin was melting, burned from the inside. More holes were created in the process, allowing more rays of light to shoot out.
And Kazuya had enough experience on the battlefield to know where this was going.
“Oi, Sawamura – !“ Kanemaru tried to interfere, to make him stop, but it was too late.
A huge blast of energy occurred afterward, strong enough to knock down several sakura trees around them. Dirt and leaves shrouded everyone’s visions, the whistle of the wind piercing through their eardrums. Granted, the barrier successfully protected everyone in the vicinity, but the sudden showcase of foreign power still terrified some students. Of course, the fact that most students were shielding their faces with their hands was done out of pure survival instinct.
Kazuya had never felt this stunned, his eyes peeled wide open throughout the entire event. It was silent, save for the soft sounds of pebbles falling to the ground, and Kazuya could see two faint dots of golden lights—presumably emitted from Eijun’s eyes—among the thick dust and smoke, before they gradually dimmed and disappeared.
It didn’t take long for the dust to vanish completely, revealing a sheepish-looking Eijun who was glancing at the knocked trees. “Oops.” He grimaced.
Everyone was unable to speak due to their tightened jaws and dried throats, but Jun managed to croak out, “oi... he wasn’t lying when he said he uses his inner power to fight, was he?”
“That’s—that’s too literal,” Norifumi released a shaky exhale before laughing nervously.
“Sawamura-kun spends 45.7 seconds,” Takashima-sensei said with a thin smile, expression hidden under the gleaming lenses of her glasses.
“Damn, it’s not even a minute but I already feel exhausted from watching that,” Kuramochi frowned and sighed tiredly afterward. “Am I really rooming with a guy like him?”
Ryousuke hummed cryptically and side-glanced at Kazuya. “I’m sure Miyuki would love to offer a roommate trade if possible.”
At the seemingly baseless accusation, Kazuya arched a challenging eyebrow, failing to comprehend the implication behind it. Kazuya was certain that he’d be cornered if he tried to find out the real essence of Ryousuke’s words, because that was what the pink-haired man wanted—to make Kazuya fall into his trap.
“And deal with his loud noises every time? I might want to have second thoughts about that, Ryousuke-san,” Kazuya remarked with a smirk.
As expected, Ryousuke merely smiled. “If you say so,” he sweetly retorted. “I wonder if you will maintain the same answer in a few months?”
“Of course,” Kazuya said without hesitation, gaze altering back to where Eijun currently was: bowing and shouting apologies to a straight-faced Kataoka. Taking another gander around him, the damage that Eijun had caused on the trees turned out to be less fatal than Kazuya thought. Receiving an earful from Kataoka or the principal later was inevitable indeed.
“We will discuss more of your case later in private,” Kazuya could hear Kataoka’s firm reply. “However, you will do one thing for certain.”
“Wh-what is it, boss?!” Eijun inquired with bated breath.
“You,” Kataoka emphasized, “will have temporary training under Takigawa Chris Yuu.”