Have you ever felt like you've already lived another life?
As if the same exact choices had already stood before you?
Déjà vu, as we call them.
I used to think they were just coincidences. Random events, accidents of fate.
But as I kept walking my path, I realized... nothing ever truly happens by chance.
Just like that time, when a worn-out middle-aged man with sunken eyes and a notebook always in hand stood before my dojo—next to a four-year-old boy with eyes full of dreams, who wanted to become a great kendo athlete.
My name is Seiji Hayashi.
And what you're reading now... is the story of how I trained the greatest Shadow Hunter this world has ever known.
---
—Clang!
Hayashi deflected and dodged the monstrous blows of Azrael, the Keeper of Oblivion.
The screeching sound of Azrael's cursed blade clashing against Hayashi's twin guns—Twisty and Elcrist—was deafening.
Azrael was a formidable adversary, even for a master of Hayashi's caliber. With years of experience and monstrous speed, the masked warrior pushed him back relentlessly.
Azrael's violet blade flashed at inhuman speeds—leaving grazes on Hayashi's legs, a cut across his cheek.
In a blur, Azrael dashed behind him, blade glowing.
A diagonal slash. A wave of energy.
Hayashi was about to be struck down.
"Elcrist!" he shouted urgently.
"Got it!" the gun replied, firing a shot at the ground.
The blast launched Hayashi into the air, just in time to dodge.
He flipped and landed—only to see a nearby skyscraper sliced clean in half.
Screams echoed through the streets of Shibuya.
"What kind of monster is this…?" Hayashi gritted his teeth.
His survival so far was only thanks to instinct, training, and sheer willpower.
If he were anyone else, he'd be dead already.
But the Memory Drift was taking its toll.
He was losing ground.
"Well, well… Not bad for an old Guardian," Azrael sneered, spinning his blade.
"But how long can you last… without drawing your sword?"
Hayashi didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on his unconscious student.
"Tsk… I need a plan."
Their energy made the lights of Tokyo flicker. The ground cracked beneath their feet.
In a rapid exchange, Hayashi somersaulted and landed behind Azrael.
He aimed Twisty at the back of his opponent's neck.
"HERE'S A GIFT, YOU MASKED BASTARD!" the gun shouted.
He fired—
—but the bullet never reached its mark.
Azrael, calm and deadly, sliced the shot midair.
"Stubborn bastard," Elcrist whispered.
Hayashi leapt backward, firing shot after shot.
Azrael deflected, cut, and danced between red and blue bullets with terrifying ease.
They moved at supersonic speeds.
Clang! Zwinn!
Their blows rang out across the ruined street.
Hayashi panted, parrying desperately.
> Subject: Seiji Hayashi – Memory Drift: 30%. Curse of Oblivion: Active.
—his holographic watch displayed.
"Damn it… I need to end this fast."
He kicked Azrael in the chest, forcing him back.
The masked warrior didn't flinch. He simply cracked his neck and raised his sword again.
"Time's running out, Hayashi. You know what you have to do," Azrael said coldly.
"Use your Remembrance, or die."
Hayashi coughed blood, eyes sharp but fatigued.
"Seiji!" Twisty cried.
"I'm fine. I've seen worse," the master tried to reassure her.
"You keep this up and he'll land a real hit," Elcrist warned.
"I know. But if I use it… I might lose myself."
He had used the Remembrance technique too many times.
And he knew the price all too well.
Still, letting Azrael roam free was worse.
He holstered both guns.
Twisty protested, "Seiji, don't! If you do—!"
"I know. I might get lost in the memories... lose who I am. Let him in."
His hand reached for the hilt of his sword.
"So… you knew who this masked freak was," Elcrist said from within her sheath.
"Yeah… Azrael. Keeper of Oblivion. A Catastrophe-Class spirit corrupted by hunger and greed. Sealed long ago."
He sighed.
"I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to release him. The Hayashi Clan sealed him generations ago—with the help of Saike Saito."
"The ancestor of today's Saito Corp director," Elcrist murmured.
Azrael began circling like a shark stalking prey.
Hayashi followed him calmly with his eyes.
"Yes. The same man who gifted you two to me."
Another breath. Heavy. Final.
"Girls, remember our pact. If I fall here… my next wielder will be Kairo."
"Hmph. Wouldn't accept anyone else," Twisty muttered.
"I agree with that idiot sister of mine," added Elcrist.
Hayashi smiled bitterly and drew his katana.
An light blue blade, inscribed with ancient kanji.
Azrael paused. "So… you're finally getting serious."
"No, Azrael," Hayashi replied.
"I'm going all in."
A deep blue aura erupted around him, violent and oppressive.
Cracks split the ground beneath him.
"My friend… lend me your wisdom. Lend me your power…"
The blade began to hum.
"I call you forth… Spirit of the Ancient Cherry Tree."
All across Shibuya, screens and windows shattered.
"My blade… the key to memory and awareness… Alkaedis—UNLOCK!"
The runes on the sword vanished.
His coat and hair floated, lifted by a rising spiritual pressure.
Azrael… stepped back.
"A human… generating this much power?" he whispered.
Hayashi raised his blade to the sky.
"Resonance: 100%."
"COME TO ME, SHIRANUI THE DOOMED FOX!"
Time stopped.
His aura compressed. Petal-shaped flames flickered around him, blue and ghostly.
A bell rang in the silence.
And then—
An explosion of energy.
The shockwave forced Azrael to shield himself.
His spine shivered.
And then he saw it.
Behind the old master… a seven-meter-tall white fox, nine tails swaying, eyes glowing blue.
A greater spirit.
Hayashi stood before his unconscious student.
His eyes opened—now frost blue.
The fox roared. Its howl echoed across Tokyo.
"Seiji…" the gun whispered, trembling.
"Don't overdo it, old man…" muttered Twisty.
Hayashi stepped into stance.
The Dance of the Cherry Blossom.
Passed down through the Hayashi Clan for generations.
"Don't worry," his voice echoed—double-toned, empowered.
"If I die… I'm taking him with me."
The petals spun around him like a sentence being passed.
"Prepare yourself, Keeper. Let me show you what it means to be human."
Azrael changed stance.
For the first time… he looked truly serious.
Because in front of him… stood not a man.
But a god.
---
And so, on that autumn night, in the burning heart of Tokyo—
A master, aided by a Greater Spirit, challenged a Catastrophe-Class entity—
to protect his student.
To be continued...