Tōriku International College buzzed with excitement.
Tomorrow was the annual Unity Gala—a lavish school event where elite students rubbed shoulders with city dignitaries. Journalists would cover it, corporate sponsors would observe, and for the school's "public image," it was a grand parade of lights, lies, and legacy.
For Yuki Kurogane, it was a stage.
For Hiroshi Kurogane, it was bait.
He stood at the rooftop of the east dormitory as twilight spilled across the steel bones of the city. The skyline shimmered with false hope, but he didn't look at it.
He was watching the cameras. Thermal scans. Drone feeds. Ghost signatures.
"Two high-frequency anomalies near Sector 3A," SPARK said over the comms. "Pulse rates don't match students. Armed. Light gear. Scoped lenses."
"They're not here to party," Hiroshi murmured. "WRAITH?"
"Already trailing," Aria replied, calm as death. "Want them alive?"
"No. Leave one breathing."
---
Inside the school, Yuki adjusted the collar of her designer uniform. The paparazzi would be swarming tomorrow, but she wasn't nervous.
She was dangerous.
Weeks under Hiroshi's brutal tutelage had changed her. Knife work. Pressure points. Deception. Diplomacy. Her words were sharpened into weapons, her steps calculated, her emotions locked behind a perfect poker face.
But tonight, she wasn't just a student. She was bait.
As planned.
A foreign tech sponsor named Zenith Global had requested VIP passes to the Unity Gala. On the surface, they were clean—pioneers in robotics and defense systems.
But Hiroshi knew better.
Zenith was a shell. A proxy company used by the Gravemind Syndicate, a black-market intelligence broker dealing in student profiling, gene-enhancement experiments, and political kidnappings.
And tomorrow, they would try to take Yuki.
---
Down in the underground command chamber below the gym, Hiroshi paced before a digital table where his team stood waiting.
ECHO, the silent infiltration expert, was cleaning a pair of sonic darts. SPARK monitored satellite syncs on her tablet. WRAITH leaned against the wall, flipping a butterfly knife.
VEGA arrived last, his metal staff across his back. "Sector lockdowns complete. Faculty bought the dummy plan."
"Good," Hiroshi said, stopping. His voice was low, commanding. "This isn't just a trap. This is a message."
He tapped the table.
A 3D render of the school appeared. Red dots flickered near the event hall.
"Zenith will send a team to abduct Yuki. They'll use a sonic-pulse blackout, disrupt power for 90 seconds, and move through the south utility corridor. SPARK, you'll feed them false network data."
"Make them feel like they're in control?" she smirked.
"Exactly. Let them reach Yuki's decoy. Then we lock the corridor."
"And the real Yuki?" WRAITH asked.
"She'll be in the north wing. Guarded by VEGA."
"Always the fun jobs," VEGA muttered.
"What about you?" ECHO asked.
"I'll be their exit route."
He tapped again, revealing a narrow shaft under the school—a forgotten sewer line modified by Hiroshi months ago.
"They'll try to escape through here. That's when I'll greet them."
With chopsticks.
---
The next day arrived.
Bright lights, string quartets, speeches. Yuki played her role flawlessly—bowing, smiling, posing. Every step was watched. Every glance, rehearsed.
Then the lights flickered.
The orchestra stopped. Students gasped.
Power failure.
The security doors hissed shut.
And the trap snapped.
Three men in carbon-thread armor stormed the corridor, sleek rifles raised. They moved like professionals—precise, fast, silent.
But the girl they captured wasn't Yuki.
It was a drone in a mask.
Behind them, WRAITH dropped from the ceiling like a spider. Two slashes, one neck snap.
Only the last man remained—alive, per Hiroshi's order.
They tried to run.
Straight into the sewer exit.
---
And there he was.
A boy in a school blazer, sleeves rolled up, holding two black chopsticks.
The last merc raised his gun—too slow.
CLACK.
The bullet was gone.
Hiroshi stood over the broken body, eyes cold.
He crouched.
"Tell Gravemind this: The Kurogane name doesn't fear the shadows."
He tapped the man's temple with the chopsticks.
"We own them."
---
Hours later, reporters swarmed the gala aftermath, baffled by the blackout but charmed by Yuki's poise.
On social media, she trended again:
#DaughterOfLegacy
#YukiUnshaken
#KuroganeEmpireReturns
And in a hidden room deep below the school, Hiroshi stared at the intel retrieved from the merc's comms.
A name blinked across the screen.
"PROJECT THANATOS – Target: Kurogane"
He leaned back.
"Good," he whispered. "Let them come."