Prologue: Pain

The rain. The blood.

She doesn’t know where the water starts and the sanguine liquid ends.

It’s as salty as her tears, and she can’t feel her face anymore.

All she sees is blood.

All she sees is blood.

All she sees is-

She gasps as she awakes on the road, her back cold against the concrete. She coughs, squints, and remembers. She coughs again and struggles to get back to her feet. Her legs are shaking, and she makes her way back into her ride. Her back is so cold. She realizes that her leather jacket is completely exposed, but she doesn’t care.

There is an Oni in the corner, and all she sees is red.

She is just a cadet. She should leave and let a more experienced member of the Corps handle it.

As if.

She feels her hand wrap around the handle of her ride, and she pushes a button. The simple back transforms around her in a Defense Gear, and she feels her lips twist in a deranged smile.

The Oni walks, but not for long. Her right hand is soon around the neck of the beast, and her left hand, curled in a fist despite the thick metal, hits the face of the beast. Again. And again. And again. She doesn’t feel her body anymore. This suit is meant for protection alone, and she can hear iron breaking the teeth of the beast and her knuckles, but she doesn’t stop. It feels too right. It feels too good.

Soon, the neck around her right hand goes limp, and her feet, which were on the shoulders of the beast – how did she reach here? – tumbles against the concrete.

There is a sob behind her. She turns around. A kid. A little boy, perhaps. She reaches out with her bloody hand… then she remembers.

So she glares at the kid. “Get out,” she utters with a rough voice. The kid doesn’t react. “Get out!” The growl is enough to make the toddler jolt, and soon, he is running out of the blood street. Well, bloody is a stretch. Sure, there is some red in there – her blood, she soon realizes – but it’s mostly Oni’s blue blood on the floor. And that’s not blood. It’s just filth being washed away by the rain. Oni are not living beings, so they don’t bleed. They only stain.

She turns around to the corpse next to her and nudges it with her boots. It’s dead. In the corner of her eyes, she finally sees familiar lights flickering, a familiar tune alongside.

She is safe. It’s over.

-

“Fired?!”

“You heard us loud and clear, Suzukie-chan. You’re clearly unfit for duties and a danger to civilians’ lives. Having you in the Corps is clearly a hindrance more than an asset,” says a ridiculously sweet voice. It comes from Chuu Maki. An ex-idol, now director of the Junior Division of the Corps and main trainer. She is ridiculously pretty, with auburn curls and perfect makeup that makes her already large eyes seem bigger, and her mouth, with an already naturally pronounced cupid bow, almost cat-like. The exact opposite of Hikari, and her scarred face and her shaggy black hair.

Hikari has always hated her. And sometimes, she thinks the feeling is mutual.

“Wait, wait… Maybe it’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” says Misao. They’re a nice teacher, but kind of forgettable, and honestly a bit creepy. Hikari doubts that Maki even heard them.

“I don’t think it’s harsh, no… Why? Do you have any other ideas, or should I blame you for this student’s inability to follow protocols?” says the woman at the desk with a smile.

Before the teacher can retort, the door opens to a large man with a large beard who doesn’t even fit the doorway. There is a moment of silence before an “oops, sorry” is uttered, and then awkward laughter follows. He lowers himself, and Hikari recognizes him as one of the agents who came earlier. She also saw his face on a few pamphlets around the city about the Heavenly Corps. She always thought he looked like a bum, and from here, she realizes he smelled like one, too. “Sorry for the door, Lieutenant, I hope I didn’t break it, hehe! But… I had to rush in when I heard that you were going to punish the little genius here, like… really? Why?!”

“Because she didn’t follow protocols, it’s not really hard to understand,” says Lieutenant Maki with a honey voice and a soft glance, before tilting her head. “You know, just because you’re having hard times with rules doesn’t mean we should have more problematic members among us, Tomioka-kun.”

“Aouh! That hurts, chief, that really hurts,” he says with a hearty laugh that echoes through Hikari and makes her shoulders drop slightly despite herself. “I understand your point of view, but… This kid right there managed to handle an Oni on her own and save a kid. It should be worth something.”

“Did she?” says the Lieutenant with a slight pout. “Well, while it’s true that thankfully no one got hurt, the kid she saves was almost in contact with her, according to witnesses and she could have cursed him. By the way, Tomioka-kun, I recommend you not touch Suzukie-chan right here, or she will steal some of your memories. If you touch her long enough, she can even steal your memory of how to breathe and… I don’t need to tell you how this would go.”

A silence echoes through the office. Tomioka stands next to Hikari for a moment, and Hikari notices that, indeed, he has his hand raised next to her shoulder. He had almost touched her. The thought made her nauseous.

“Oh, I see,” says the agent before clearing his throat. He puts his hand behind his back and straightens himself to face Chuu Maki fully, who looks at him with a soft smile. “Lieutenant, I understand that the mission didn’t go according to protocol, and a lot of risky behavior was taken. But today… I had noticed the promising behavior of the recruit, and I couldn’t let her be dismissed without acting!”

His booming voice makes Hikari flinch, and she goes out of her shock for a moment. Right, this is about her getting fired. And she couldn’t afford it. “I’m sorry!” she screams, more loudly than she wanted to. “I didn’t want to damage the suit, and I didn’t want to curse the kid; it was all an accident. But I wanted to do good, I swear, because there was this Oni and he was going to hurt this kid and-”

“You don’t need to give me a report of the case, I already read the files through and through before making this decision, Suzukie-chan,” cuts the Lieutenant with a benevolent voice. “However, Tomioka-kun, if you’re willing to put your reputation at risk… Then I’m willing to hear your plea and consider keeping us as a junior. After she goes through a seminar to remind her of the basics of safety protocols.”

“If you read the files, then you would know that we would have probably gotten there too late and the kid might have died,” says Tomioka sternly, with a trace of shame in his even voice.

“No. I would argue that if Suzukie-chan came to get you, you would have arrived faster to handle the Oni,” she says with a compassionate gaze and offers her hand to the field agent in front of her desk. “I know your powers; if you knew people were in danger, you would have come faster.”

“But it’s just a speculation, with the other-,” Tomioka cuts himself off and smiles before taking the office’s hand. “I’m getting lost in small details again. Sorry. No… What I want is not for Suzukie Hikari to just stay a cadet… The kid has potential, Lieutenant. She should be a Field Agent already.”

“What?”

“I agree!” suddenly interjects Hikari’s teacher.

“Oooh, Misao! I didn’t see you here, how long have you been here?!” says with a slight jump the old man Tomioka.

“Hikari is not a liability, Lieutenant!” continues with a fervent voice that Hikari has never heard from her teacher. “She is not only our best recruit this year but also scores high in all abilities scores! I believe that she should have joined the Field Team a long time ago now, and this incident is just another showcase of her potential!”

Another silence. But it’s a lighter one. One that makes Hikari’s heart flutter for a moment before she lowers her eyes. Those words don’t seem to ring true for a moment…

“Alright,” simply announces Lieutenant Maki. “So, which one of you is going to be responsible for her during her initiation?”

“I will,” says Tomiako, with a growing smile. He looks at Hikari and almost hits her back before remembering and drawing back. He laughs joyously. “I feel like we’re going to do great things, kid.”

“Oh… Oh, her initiation? Isn’t it a bit soon? I’m not even sure Miss Sukuzie has even thought about her Tenshi…,” murmurs her teacher, suddenly anxious and with a gloomy voice.

“Initiation is mandatory to integrate the rank of Field Agents. Plus teaching about Tenshi is-

“Momotaro,” declares Hikari with a solemn voice.

“Huh?”

“I want to be bound with Hiten Momotaro,” she repeats, her eyes burning with determination. “And I accept to start my initiation as soon as possible.”