"Uh, what'll you be taking?" Jimin asked, setting down his menu.
"Eh?" Yona blinked, pulled from her spiraling thoughts. "Um… let me see." She picked up the menu, eyes barely reading the text. "Honestly, I don't have much of an appetite. Just coffee'll do."
Jimin raised a brow but didn't push. He waved over the waiter. "Two coffees, please."
The waiter nodded and disappeared into the back.
Yona hesitated, feeling a touch guilty. "Wait…no, no. Get something to eat. Hope you're not skipping food just 'cause I said I'm not hungry."
"I also… don't have an appetite," Jimin admitted, leaning back with a tired smile. "Long couple of days."
Yona smiled faintly, but the voice in her mind struck like a whisper behind her eyes.
"Ask him more about Takami."
Nyx's voice again.
"Um," Yona started carefully, "how long have you been friends with Takami?"
Jimin glanced up, as if surprised by the question. "Roughly five years now, give or take. He and Yuri were actually the first ones I got along with after moving here to Japan. Showed me around the city, taught me a few things."
Yona nodded slowly. Five years… That was deeper than she expected. He was bonded.
"He's a spirit slayer too, right?" she continued, trying to sound casual.
"Yeah. Through and through."
Jimin took a sip of his coffee just as it was served.
"What are his… you know, like his details? Rank? Class?"
There was a pause. Jimin's expression didn't shift, but the way he looked at her changed just a little.
"He's a Rank-3 Low Grant user. Slayer class. No guild…yet."
"Oh," she replied quickly, then added, "I was just curious."
Jimin leaned back in his chair, watching her now more than listening.
"Why are you asking all these questions?" he asked, not unkind, but direct.
Yona blinked, forcing out a chuckle. "I just… wanted to know more about him. You said he was your best friend, so I thought…curiosity, that's all."
Her smile was a mask, and they both knew it.
Jimin nodded slightly, but didn't press. Instead, he looked down into his coffee, swirling it gently.
She reached for her cup and sipped her coffee.
Kyoto - Uji
Yokai Corps HQ – Tai's Office
The soft hum of healing magic drifted through the room. A faint green glow pulsed over Jin's bruised skin, threading over his arms and neck like vines of light. Across from him, Tai sat with hands folded neatly, watching the process in silence.
Matsuda was beside Jin, arms crossed, attention shifting between the healer's technique and Tai's expression.
Ken, meanwhile, lounged on the couch like he owned the place. One leg crossed, arms spread wide, head tilted back in pure disinterest.
The healer finished with a soft bow. "That should ease the inflammation. Any deeper injuries will still need time. That's the farthest my ability can go."
"That's enough. Thank you." Jin's voice assured. The woman bowed again and slipped out of the office, the door clicking quietly behind her.
Jin turned to Tai. "Did my message get to you?"
Tai nodded, fingers steepled in front of his mouth. "Two High Grant Rank-1 mage. Healers of same rank. They're waiting outside."
"Good," Jin said, standing, the folds of his coat brushing the armrest. "Let's move."
Matsuda rose immediately, slipping into place behind him.
Ken yawned, loudly. "Do you ever rest, Jin? Or is sleep beneath your divine mission too?"
Jin paused at the door. "Rest is for the safe. We lack that privilege."
"You're starting to sound more like the chairman." Ken added.
Jin chuckled and walked out.
Ken looked at Tai, who gave a rare smile.
Ken rolled his eyes. "At least that's new."
Still, he stood, cracked his neck, grabbed his gun, and slid his phone into his pocket before following them out.
2:43 PM – Tokyo
Back at the restaurant, the tension between Yona and Jimin had settled into a thin film. Not thick enough to break the mood.
"You don't look like someone who spends their days worrying about spirits, also never said anything about slaying spirits" Jimin said suddenly, stirring his coffee. "So… what do you do, exactly?"
Yona's smile froze a bit. "I'm just… into writing. Literature major."
"Cool. Fiction or historical?"
She blinked. "Both?"
Jimin laughed. "Safe answer."
Yona breathed out, grateful for the shift.
But Nyx's voice returned again,
"He suspects. Say something to throw him off."
Yona's eyes flicked up, then she smiled. "Actually, I wanted to write about Spirit Slayers for a while. That's why I asked those questions. I've been researching. Hoping it'll become a thesis project. You know, trying to find different types of spirit slayers"
That seemed to do the trick.
Jimin's brow eased. "Oh, that makes more sense. You're probably one of the few people who find this job more interesting than just dangerous."
"Danger's always fascinating," Yona replied, sipping her coffee. "Even if it's not safe."
The silence afterward wasn't awkward, just heavy.
Jimin looked out the window for a moment, eyes following a crow that flew past.
"You know," he said softly, "he's passed through what most would've committed suicide for."
"Takami?" she asked.
Jimin nodded. "Everyone either thinks he's a nobody or burden. He's neither. He's just… walking through a storm none of us can see."
Yona looked down. Her fingers tightened around her cup.
You're right, she thought.
And I'm one of the shadows in that storm.
Military Base
A sleek black car rolled to a stop beside the JDF commander, who stood accompanied by two soldiers. The rear window of the back seat went down, revealing the Prime Minister inside.
"Hm… I heard all your boys died last night. Eighty percent found in two pieces…head and body. That true?" the Prime Minister asked casually, voice like ice.
The commander stood silent for a beat. Then, with a heavy breath, he spoke.
"Partly. One of them survived... but he's too mentally traumatized to say anything coherent."
"Get whatever you can from him. I don't care how."
"Understood, sir. But… there's a high chance this was the work of a spirit."
The Prime Minister narrowed his eyes. "Do you hear yourself?"
"No disrespect, sir. But the cuts were too clean. And we had four Awakened personnel with them. High Grant users. Rank-2s." The commander said, nodding toward one of the soldiers who gave a subtle confirmation.
"What type of spirit? One of those shadow creeps, or the bone-wielding ones? Attacking only the military." the Prime Minister mocked.
"You know damn well which kind I'm talking about, sir. Or has it only taken eight years for you to forget that day?"
The commander wasn't aggressive. Calm, steady. But his words hit hard.
"Watch your mouth," the Prime Minister snapped, voice rising. Then, suddenly quiet, he stared past the commander, lost in a flicker of memory.
Flashback – 8 Years Ago
He was driving alone when the car slammed into something invisible. Air? He wasn't sure. The vehicle flipped violently, landing upside-down. Dazed, he crawled out, chest heaving. His trembling fingers fumbled with the glovebox. Goggles. Special ones, designed to let normal humans see what they weren't supposed to.
He put them on. And instantly wished he hadn't.
A towering spirit grinned down at him, human-shaped but distorted. Eyes too wide. Smile too big. A massive blade gleamed in its hand. It took a step. Then it glitched, and was already standing over him.
He reached for his gun. But his arm…
Gone. Blood sprayed. A scream swelled in his throat, but fear clenched it shut.
Then a sudden shove sent the spirit flying. Sora Tenma had arrived. A Spirit Keeper. The guild master of Azure Dawn.
"Michiko!" he called.
Michiko Aizawa, a healer and a mage, a fellow Spirit Keeper. She rushed in and crouched beside the Prime Minister. Her hands hovered over the place where the blood pooled. Soft green light poured from her palms, and slowly, impossibly, his arm reformed.
Minutes passed. The spirit lay dead. But the fear never left him.
Current Time...
The Prime Minister blinked, snapping back to the present. His voice trembled slightly, but his words remained cold.
"This is a job for the JSSB. Spirit Slayers. Not soldiers. This massacre only proves what we've known for years," the commander replied without flinching. "That the military can't match those creatures. This is the kind of situation we'd have avoided if you'd let the Spirit Slayers clear them out fifteen years ago."
"This isn't your call," the Prime Minister growled.
"And it never was yours to silence." The commander's tone was final.
The Prime Minister, boiling with anger now, rolled up the window without another word. The car sped off.
The commander turned to his men. "Back to your units."
"Yes, sir!" they replied in sync, marching off.
Tokyo – Ome
Takami strolled home, hands in pockets, when he spotted a group near a barricaded dorm. Five Spirit Slayers in battle gear stood nearby, along with a man in a black suit guarding the pulsing dorm entrance.
He approached, casually. "Hey uh… is this a public raid?"
"Yeah," replied a man in silver-plated armor, clearly the team leader. Sword on his back, calm air around him. "Haven't you heard? Dorms are popping up everywhere across Japan. Mostly in Kyoto."
"Haven't really checked my phone lately," Takami shrugged.
"The JSS Board marked most of them as public. Pay's decent too. You're a spirit slayer?"
"Technically, yeah."
"Perfect," the leader said. "We were just about to sign off, but we need six to meet the team-entry requirement. Unless you've got a Spirit Keeper, which we don't."
Takami hesitated, eyeing the group. Two mages, one tank, one who seemed to be a healer. "Uh… I don't think I'm a good pick."
"Why's that?"
"I'm Low Grant. Rank-3."
That got their attention. Eyes landed on him. A pause.
Then the leader smiled. "We'll cover you. Just stick behind us. You'll still get a cut of the pay. They're all High Grant Rank-2s here, and I'm Rank-1. We're good, right?"
The others nodded without hesitation.
Takami blinked, surprised. This was new. Usually, he was ignored, mocked, insulted or outright rejected.
"...Alright then. Sure, I'm in."
"Nice!" The leader extended a hand. "Name's Wazahi."
"Takami," he replied, shaking it.
They approached the suited man, who handed each of them notepads to fill out registration details. Afterward, he removed the barricade and gestured.
"Good luck," the man said, then walked away.
Inside, the air changed, dense, charged. Takami followed behind the group. Something was close.
"Illuminate!" one of the mages called. Her staff lit up, flooding the hallway in bright light.
Takami's senses flared. "Left."
A spirit burst from the shadows, but Wazahi spun and sliced it down in one clean motion, thanks to Takami's call.
Everyone looked back at Takami.
"That's uh… my skill. I can sense spirits from a distance," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
The tank grinned. "Looks like you'll be more useful than we thought."
Takami let out a chuckle, some of the weight in his chest lifting for the first time in a while.