Chapter 3: A Second Thought

Meanwhile, back in Minami, the sun was casting long shadows across the high school courtyard. Hasashi sat quietly on a stone bench, watching over Teni, who had fallen fast asleep with her head resting on his lap. He patiently killed time, waiting as the first few students finally began to trickle through the school gates.
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Aunt Misaki... That guy had no right to speak to her like that, Hasashi thought bitterly. She's put her life on the line so many times for humanity's sake, and that's how they repay someone as beautiful and loyal as her? His expression shifted to pure anger. If that guy wasn't already in enough pain, I would've—
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"What’s wrong?" a calm voice asked, snapping him back to reality. Hasashi blinked and turned his head, instantly meeting Yachira Isane's hollow gaze. "Oh. Yachira, it's you," he said, his voice wavering slightly.
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"Did you expect someone else, kid?" Yachira asked, casually sitting down next to him. "You know you're only a year older than me, right?" he bluntly replied.
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"A year and a half, actually. But it doesn't matter, since I'll reach adulthood way before you," she said, lifting her gaze toward the morning sky.
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"Yeah, but—hey, wait! You don't even go to school here! Why the hell are you here?!" Hasashi blurted out, suddenly realizing the situation and pointing a finger at her.
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"Easy, kid. You just seemed a little unusual today, so I stopped by to check on you. That's all," she clarified.
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"But how did you even notice me from—"
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"I've awakened my gift," she stated, turning her gaze back to him. "It's called God's Eye. I inherited it from my mother's side of the bloodline."
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"Whoa, no freaking way! What does it do?" Hasashi asked.

"Whoa, no freaking way! What does it do?" Yachira said at the exact same time.
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Hasashi blinked. "Huh?"
"Huh?" Yachira mirrored perfectly.
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"Hey, wait—"
"Hey, wait—"
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"Stop that! It's annoying!" Hasashi finally snapped. "You wanted to know what it does, so I showed you," she bluntly replied, breaking the loop.
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"Wait... what does it actually do, then?" he asked, completely bewildered. "Not much yet, since I've only just awakened it. But I can see six seconds ahead into the future, and track everything within a thirty-five-meter radius," she explained.
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"Six seconds ahead of time and everything within a thirty-five-meter radius?! How is that not much?!" Hasashi yelled.His sudden outburst startled Teni, waking her up from her nap. She slowly lifted her head from his lap and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them, only to find Yachira sitting right next to them.
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"Huh... what are you doing here, Yachira?" Teni questioned in a tired, groggy voice.
​"I could ask you the same thing. Aren't you a fifth grader? What the hell are you doing at a high school?" Yachira questioned smoothly.
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"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Hasashi remembered, looking down. "You need to get to school, little missy."
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"Anyways, I must be on my way now. Bye, kid—"
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"Wait," Hasashi stopped her just as she stood up and began to walk away.Yachira paused and looked back at him over her shoulder, her hollow gaze locking onto his. "What is it?"
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"Do you plan on becoming a hunter in the near future?" Hasashi asked seriously.

Yachira remained completely silent for a brief moment, letting the question hang in the air before she finally answered. "...To be honest... that's the last thing I'd want to do with my life, kid. I love my family more than anything in this world, so I don't want to be out there fighting demons and risking my life for strangers."
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"But it's not like you'll be doing it for nothing," Hasashi argued, leaning forward. "It'll be to protect the ones you love, too. Not to mention your family's bloodline legacy—"
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"Don't be stupid, Hasashi. Listen to yourself for once," Yachira interrupted, a sudden cold fury settling over her expression. "Have you ever actually given a second thought to what becoming a Hunter means? How massive of a risk it is? How much Teni wouldn't want you to be one?"

Her words struck a nerve, leaving Hasashi completely speechless. For a moment, he could only stare at her. Seeing his silence, Yachira's expression softened slightly. She sighed, turning to continue down the path. "...Look, I don't entirely despise the idea of being a hunter. I... I'm just scared, that's all. And I don't want to lose a brat like you, either. So I would really appreciate it if you'd reconsider."
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Hasashi remained quiet, his eyes locked on her silhouette as she walked away, disappearing into the bright morning sunlight.
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"...Hasashi," Teni called out softly, breaking his trance. Hasashi took a deep breath and looked down at her. "Come on. Let's get you to school." They both stood up from the stone bench, stepping out of the dark shadows and into the warmth of the sun.

The morning sun continued its climb into the sky as the streets grew increasingly crowded with people heading to work. Yachira... I should've just left her alone when she was trying to leave, Hasashi thought gloomily, walking alongside Teni. But I just... had to go and ruin the moment.
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"We're here," Teni said, her voice breaking his chain of thought. "Oh, right," he replied, stopping as they reached the front of the school. He watched as Teni stepped through the school gates.
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"Oh, and Hasashi?" Teni called out over her shoulder without looking back. "Think about what Yachira said. Please." Her words left Hasashi completely stunned. It stung to realize that even his own sister wasn't supportive of his dream to become a Hunter.
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I'm sorry, Teni, he thought, turning to walk toward his own school. I gave it a second thought a long time ago. Besides, Yutaro seems interested in Hunters these days, too. There's no way I'm letting him carry the family legacy all on his own.
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Meanwhile, back in Yutaro's empty high school classroom, he remained seated at his desk, staring out the window at the city view as students finally began trickling onto the school grounds.
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...Fate, huh? You quit being a hunter because of fate? No... that's not it, Yutaro mused in the quiet of his own mind. He did it for us. He wanted to watch us grow up. That's why Father quit. In that case... I'll carry on the family legacy myself. Yeah. But it's going to take some serious hard work and dedication to live up to the Akira name. The hardest part will be convincing Father to train me since he left that life behind for our sake. Good thing I have Mother. Honestly, though, I don't even know if she'd consider helping me, since it's a matter of life and—
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Then why not go through the Organization’s official training? a soft voice intervened, echoing directly inside his mind. "Get out of my head, Sakura," Yutaro said aloud to the empty air.
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"I was just trying to help, little Yuta," Sakura teased, suddenly sitting on top of the desk right in front of him. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd speak directly to me and stop messing with my head every time you see me," Yutaro stated, turning his gaze to meet hers.
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"Aww, why not? Don't you like it?" she asked playfully. "You think I like the fact that someone is reading my mind every goddamned minute I'm in class?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes.
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"...In that case... I'll definitely keep doing it," she replied, flashing a mischievous smile. "You seem so calm about it anyway."

"You really are something else, aren't you," Yutaro flatly observed.
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"Anyways, have you heard about the incident that occurred this morning?" Sakura asked, her tone shifting to something more serious. "Yeah." Yutaro stood up from his desk and walked over to the window, looking out over the city. "I actually stumbled into the aftermath with my siblings."
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"Oh, really? ...What did you see?" she asked, leaning forward. "Read my mind," Yutaro said without hesitation.
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"It doesn't work like that," Sakura admitted, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. "I can only read a person's active thoughts, not their past memories. Well... not unless I'm touching them, at least."
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"You have my permission," Yutaro said, walking back and sitting down in his chair.
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Sakura slid off the desk and walked straight over to him. Without warning, she climbed into his lap, straddling his legs and locking her eyes onto his. Yutaro didn't flinch, his gaze meeting hers evenly. Leaning in close, Sakura gently pressed her lips against his, using the physical contact to dive into his mind and sift through his memories from a few hours prior.
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Inside the memory, her consciousness registered the scene: ...Misaki Hiroko. She was there, huh? She's so beautiful... I look up to her so much. I want to be just like her... Hey, what is this asshole talking about? He has no right to speak to her like that!
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Furious at the disrespectful civilian she was seeing in Yutaro's memory, Sakura inadvertently bit down hard on Yutaro's lip.
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"Okay, that's enough," Yutaro mumbled against her mouth, their lips still pressed together.
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Right at that moment, two of their classmates walked into the room. Catching them in the middle of the action, the two students froze, completely speechless. They exchanged a silent glance, turned right back around, and walked out of the classroom as if they had seen absolutely nothing.
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Sakura finally broke the kiss, having finished sorting through the memory. "Was the kiss necessary?" Yutaro questioned, looking uncomfortably to the side while she remained comfortably seated on his lap.
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"Actually, no. I just wanted to see how you'd react," she stated bluntly, showing zero hesitation. "To my surprise, you didn't try to stop me, so I just went for it. Plus, I wanted you to be my first kiss. That's all."

She leaned in slightly closer, her eyes glittering. "Do you want to try it without the tongue this time—"
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"Get off me, Sakura," Yutaro demanded before she could finish the sentence. "You're so cute," she chuckled, standing up from his lap.

​"This actually surprised me, you know," Sakura mused, strolling lazily around the desks as Yutaro’s eyes tracked her every movement. "I mean, just a few days ago, you kept bragging on and on about becoming a doctor, and how much it would benefit you. Now it feels like you've turned into a completely different person in the span of just a few days."
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"I could say the same for you," Yutaro countered flatly. "You seem entirely too interested in the fact that I plan on becoming a hunter. Not only that, but you haven't been getting enough sleep for the past three months and five days. It explains why you've been arriving between nine and sixteen minutes later than usual, which indicates to me that you've been training for something."
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"Oh, really?" Sakura asked, still navigating her way around the tables, keeping her tone playful. "What led you to that conclusion?"
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"It's obvious, Sakura. Out of nowhere, you started wrapping athletic bandages around your hands, claiming you injured them during a jog home from school. Except we both know your brother drives you home every single day, and he is never once late to pick you up," Yutaro stated, his gaze narrowing with suspicion.
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"As for your lack of sleep—instead of slouching like a normal tired student, you sit unnaturally straight, gripping the edges of your desk. A posture like that is a deliberate, muscular effort to keep yourself from collapsing. You stare intently at the blackboard without blinking for far too long, and when you finally do blink, it's slow and heavy, as if your eyelids are moving through mud. And finally, when you take notes, your pen trails off into a meaningless scribble or a straight line across the page when you experience a two-to-three-second microsleep. You then jerk awake and look around frantically to see if anyone noticed."
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Yutaro leaned forward slightly. "But I'm sure there was no need for that explanation, since you can just mess with my mind whenever you want."
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His words hung heavily in the chilling morning air. Sakura froze mid-stride, her playful demeanor completely vanishing. She stood entirely speechless, her stomach dropping as the sheer weight of his observations caved in on her.
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"...Hmm? You seem surprised," Yutaro noted, resting his jaw casually on his fists. "What's wrong?"
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"...Yutaro," Sakura said, finally breaking her silence, her voice barely above a whisper.
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"What is it?" he answered.

"Have you... awakened a gift?"

​"Okay, boys and girls, this is your final term-end exam for the school year," Mr. Ueda announced, pacing the front of the room. "Although some of you may—"

"We know that, Mr. Ueda! Let's just skip the chit-chat and start already!" Denji shouted, cutting off the teacher's speech entirely.
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"Thank God Denji interrupted him," a student whispered from the back row.
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"Yeah, he would’ve kept on bragging nonstop."
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"We owe you some ramen after this, Denji."
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A ripple of quiet snickers and whispers broke out across the classroom.
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"Ahem, ahem!" Mr. Ueda cleared his throat aggressively, instantly silencing the room and glaring at Denji. He picked up the stack of papers. "Keep your exam booklets face down on your desks as they are passed back," his booming voice commanded.
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The room was packed now, filled with the collective anxiety of forty third-year students. The heavy silence that had lingered between Yutaro and Sakura was completely buried by the sharp rustle of test sheets moving down the rows.
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"Double-check your pockets," Mr. Ueda continued, his eyes scanning the room. "All cellphones must be completely powered off and inside your bags. If a single phone vibrates or makes a sound, the owner's exam is disqualified on the spot. You have exactly fifty minutes for this Mock University Entrance Exam. Do not touch your pencils until I give the word."
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Sakura stared straight ahead at the blank back of her booklet, the fragments of her recent conversation with Yutaro racing through her mind.
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Has he really awakened a gift? He... he just left my question completely unanswered when the other students walked in. And I couldn't read his mind right before that... Why was that? No, I shouldn't be asking myself these questions right now, it's not the time... But still... what is he trying to hide?
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Last exam of the year, huh? This'll be a piece of cake, Yutaro thought to himself, completely unfazed as he glanced one last time at the city view outside. I wonder how Beniko is doing on her exam.
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"Write your name and student registration number," Mr. Ueda called out, checking his watch before raising his hand.
​"...Hajime!"
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And so, the exam began. But while the students fought through their papers, an entirely different battle was being discussed elsewhere.