The familiar sight of Seishin South High School's dock should have been comforting, but as the Spirit Water Jet glided to a stop, Anjero felt his stomach clench with apprehension. Two figures stood waiting for them on the pier—Hajime Aado and Principal Sharin Sutanrì—and neither looked particularly pleased.
As the team disembarked, carrying their gear and the weight of their recent experiences, Mashù stepped forward with the resigned air of someone walking to his own execution.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Mr. Aado. I disobeyed orders and went anyway," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Shut it!" Hajime's voice cut through the harbor air like a blade. "We'll deal with that matter later. I'm just glad you all made it back without any casualties."
Relief flooded Mashū's face, though he knew his punishment was merely postponed, not canceled.
Sharin stepped forward, and for a moment, the stern principal façade cracked to reveal the terrified mother underneath. "Shinkei! Oh, thank God." She pulled her youngest son into a fierce embrace before turning to the others. "Anjero, Yokudan, Mashū, Kamira, and Romaji—thank you for saving everyone."
"No problem, Mom," Anjero replied, exhaustion evident in his voice.
"Piece of cake, Ms. S," Kamira added with her characteristic confidence.
Romaji puffed out his chest with pride. "Easy for the main character of this story."
Sharin blinked in confusion. "I have no idea what he's talking about, but—Anjero! Yoku! In my office for results on the mission. Shinkei, you also."
"Yes, ma'am," they replied in unison.
As they began walking toward the school, Shinkei tugged on Anjero's sleeve, his face a mask of confusion. "Yo, Anjero, what's Mom doing here?"
"She's the principal of this school," Anjero replied matter-of-factly.
"What! Since when?"
"Always. You never asked."
Shinkei's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as this revelation shattered his understanding of his family's dynamics.
Behind them, Hajime's attention turned to the three unauthorized mission participants. His expression was thunderous as he addressed Kamira, Romaji, and Mashū.
"You three have some explaining to do. I should expel you three for, one, disrupting a mission, and two, for breaking multiple rules of this school."
"We're sorry!" they chorused, though each carried themselves differently—Kamira defiant, Romaji sheepish, and Mashū resigned.
"And Kamira, I'm especially surprised at you. You were supposed to be the leader of this squad."
Kamira straightened her shoulders, meeting his gaze directly. "Sir, if you would—Mashū wouldn't take no for an answer, so I thought the best option would be to go with him and protect him from doing anything else stupid."
Hajime considered this for a long moment. "Though I do commend you for your decision, I still have to punish you for doing this. So Kamira and Romaji, you two will be cleaning all the bathrooms on the spirit side for two weeks."
"Oh man, those things are disgusting!" Romaji groaned.
"Suck it up, man. We could've gotten worse," Kamira replied pragmatically.
Hajime's attention turned to Mashū, and his expression grew even more severe. "And Mashū, not only did you break the rules, but you went against my direct order to stay out of it. So what I'll do is give you a month under house arrest, and you'll also be on bathroom duty with Kam and Romaji."
"Thank you, sir," Mashū said, genuine gratitude in his voice for the relatively lenient sentence.
"I wasn't done!" Hajime continued. "You'll also be helping out in the cafe for whatever they need. Now I'm done. Dismissed!"
**The Principal's Office**
The office was larger than Anjero remembered from his first day, with windows that offered a panoramic view of the city beyond. Sharin settled behind her desk with the practiced ease of someone accustomed to difficult conversations.
"OK, so what happened?" she asked, her voice carrying both maternal concern and professional authority.
Anjero and Yoku took turns explaining the mission—the underwater facility, Tenki's stolen powers, the rescue of the kidnapped children, and the final confrontation. Sharin listened without interruption, her expression growing more troubled with each detail.
"I see. Shinkei?" she asked, turning to her youngest son.
"We believe that he's awakened Pyrus, the spirit of fire, Principal Sutanrì," Yoku reported formally.
"Damn it, that's two now," Sharin muttered, running her hands through her hair. "I hope your sister doesn't have one. I can't deal with this."
"Mom?" Shinkei asked, confusion evident in his voice.
"Listen, Shinkei, I'm going to enroll you into this school."
"What about my friends at my old school?" The question carried the plaintive tone of a child whose world was being turned upside down.
"It'll be safer that way."
The words triggered something primal in Shinkei's newly awakened spirit. Flames began to flicker around his hands as his emotional state destabilized. "I don't care about safety! I don't want to go here!"
"SPLASH!" Anjero immediately doused his brother with a stream of water. "Chill out, man, and listen."
"Shinkei," Sharin continued, her voice gentle but firm, "you're a Guardian now. We need you here."
"What about Aria? And what's this about being a Guardian?"
"She'll be fine. These 'Guardians' are beings with powers beyond understanding who protect humankind from destroying itself. We protect the powerless."
"We? Mom, are you one also?"
Sharin's answer came not in words but in action. "VOLT WHIP!"
Lightning crackled to life around her hand, forming into a whip of pure electrical energy that she snapped with practiced precision. The display lasted only seconds, but it transformed their understanding of who their mother really was.
"Huh?" Shinkei stared at her with new eyes.
"I used to be a Guardian twenty years ago, but I started to become weak and chose to retire. I'll tell you both the whole story some other day."
"I kinda want to hear that story also," Yuko interjected with genuine curiosity.
"Anyways," Sharin continued, her attention returning to Shinkei, "please train your hardest to become a great Guardian, and try to control that temper. It'll be the death of you."
Shinkei slumped in his chair, the weight of his new reality settling on his young shoulders. "Whatever. I guess I'll give this life a try for now."
"Thank you. Anjero, Yoku, I'm awarding you both two days off campus and two thousand points each for a job well done."
"Thank you. I definitely need a break," Anjero replied, though he wondered if rest was even possible anymore.
"Woah, you get paid like that to do this? I'm sure in!" Shinkei's mood immediately improved at the mention of money. "Do I get anything, Mom? I helped out too!"
"Of course you get six hundred points!"
"That's it?"
"Technically, you're not even enrolled, so I really can't give you much."
"Huh, fine," Shinkei grumbled.
"OK, done. Anjero, lead Shinkei to his new living quarters. Room 1217. Dismissed!"
"Yes, Principal!"
**Later That Afternoon**
The training facility hummed with activity as students worked to master their abilities. Anjero was sparring with Kamira when something shifted inside him—not his consciousness moving aside, but being gently pushed back as another presence took control.
"Anjero, are you OK?" Kamira asked, noticing the subtle change in his posture and expression.
"Yes, I am OK, Kamira," Aalto replied through Anjero's voice, though his speech patterns were more formal than usual. "Actually, I have to go... to the bathroom."
"OK, don't be long," Kamira said, though something in his tone made her frown.
"OK then," she said as Aalto left the training facility. "Romaji, train with me."
"Bet! I've gotten stronger since last time," Romaji replied enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, Aalto moved through the school's corridors with purpose, his ancient awareness navigating directly to Hajime's office. He knocked twice on the door.
"Come in!" Hajime called out.
Aalto entered, and immediately Hajime's demeanor shifted. "Well, hello, Anjero... or should I call you Aalto?"
"I can't get anything past the great Aado," Aalto replied with something that might have been amusement. "But enough of that. I have a few questions for you, and how you answer them, I might give you something."
"And what would I get that would benefit me?" Hajime asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Important intel about the spirits and the Mother Willow."
The name hit Hajime like a physical blow. "OK... ask away."
"First, what's your intention for collecting guardians here?"
Hajime considered the question carefully. "That's really a question for the big head honcho of all the academies. Me personally? To train the future to protect the future, is all."
"Hm, I don't hate your answer. OK, what do you know about the Darkness Spirit?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to my brother in so long. Why?"
Aalto's response was immediate and cryptic. "OK, I'll tell you the intel."
"Wait, you didn't answer my question!"
"Listen carefully, because I'll only say this once," Aalto continued, ignoring the protest.
"OK."
"My mother has informed me that she feels a presence coming soon. In four years."
"Presence? What do you mean?"
Aalto's voice carried the weight of ancient prophecy. "My mother feared this... that is all I can say for now. Relay this message to all the other schools. We all need to be ready for whatever happens in two years."
"You're not giving me enough information about the matter!" Hajime protested, but even as he spoke, he could feel the ancient spirit's presence beginning to recede.
The shift back to Anjero was subtle but noticeable—his posture relaxed, his expression became more confused, and when he spoke, it was with his own voice.
"Well, damn," Hajime muttered, staring at the young guardian who clearly had no memory of the conversation that had just taken place.
"Mr. Aado? Why am I in your office?" Anjero asked, genuinely confused.
"Nothing important," Hajime lied smoothly. "Just checking on how you're adjusting after the mission. You can go back to training."
As Anjero left, Hajime reached for his secure communication device. Aalto's warning about a presence coming in two to three years—or was it four?—needed to be taken seriously. If the Ancient Spirits were concerned enough to start communicating directly, then the threat they faced was far greater than anything they'd encountered before.
The successful capture of Tenki had been a victory, but it was becoming clear that it was only the first battle in a much larger war.
And somewhere in the school, Anjero continued his training, unaware that his spirit carried prophecies that could reshape the fate of the world.
The countdown to an unknown crisis had begun, and they had less time to prepare than anyone realized.