The next day

Shizune slept less than usual after the incident with the Ito Gang but enjoyed her first schoolday without their presence, at least as much she can enjoy another day in Nantoka High. On her way to said school, she ended up confirming that the collapse of the Kaedekura Art Gallery was officially reported as a construction failure, which meant she could wash her hands off the ordeal and call it a case closed.
Such is how the world of the Awakened operates: when the Innocents create their own explanations to things they can't understand, it's rarely disputed.

By the next day the Ito gang is discharged from the hospital except for Atsu, whose leg will take a long time to heal, if at all.
The official story is that the group just so happened to be loitering around outside of the art gallery and they were caught in the collapse. Since none of them wants to be charged with trespassing private property, Ito and his friends agreed not to talk to anyone about anything else that happened in the incident.

Baku and Chou’s parents reacted much in the same way Ito’s mom did; demanding an explanation but ultimately accepting the story both the firemen and their children gave them. Ito’s mom went the extra mile of powerfully slapping her son’s head for picking bad spots to loiter at night once she saw her son was fine, however.
The one that didn’t take this nearly as well was Atsu’s father, who stoically heard everything and said nothing that wasn’t in private with his son, which Ito and the others weren’t privy to. The stern man never liked the friends Atsu had made, and that made the group rather self-conscious about the experience. The feeling that Atsu ultimately ended up paying the price for the group’s (especially Ito’s) lack of good sense has the remaining three in low spirits. None of them would admit it, but the proof of their low energy is that they are right on time for school today.

Thanks to the gang’s punctuality, they encounter Shizune at the entrance, waiting for them before classes start.
Ito naturally doesn’t hide that he doesn’t like to see her around, and less so with that strong attitude she is displaying.
-“Tch, Mitsuki” he says like he saw a filthy rat in broad daylight, but Shizune nimbly takes command of the conversation.
-“Zip it, Ito, this is important”
She immediately addresses the trio as a whole. 

“I just remembered something”
She squints with almost murderous intent at her classmates, talking through her teeth.
“You didn’t pay for your ice cream, so I had to cover that”
She extends her open hand.
“I’ll accept 50% interest. If you make me wait another minute I’ll make it 100% interest minimum”

-“Haaaaah?? You really think we’re gonna... Oi, oi!”
Ito is taken by surprise by Baku, who pulls his wallet and gives Shizune the amount of money she demands, which she then pockets. Considering that Ito is the one that occasionally 'borrows' money from other students, he is left stunned by his friend's act of almost betrayal. The precious moments of Ito trying to make sense of what happened gives Shizune the perfect opportunity to escape with her profit.

-“Oi, the fuck was that?”
Ito looks at his friends, then at the Shizune entering the school and leaving the scene completely.  Then he looks at his friends again, arms open and demanding an explanation.
-“Hehe, I had some spare change so…”
-“Baku! What the hell! You just let Mitsuki walk all over you! Did that monster do something to you brain?”
Ito grabs his friend by the shoulders, ravaged by worry.

-“We kinda stole that stuff so it’s just normal to even things out right? So she doesn’t report us or anything” Baku attempts to be as diplomatic as possible, with Chou coming in to support his decision.
-“Don’t worry about it, she’s not gonna bother us again” Neither Chou or Baku have the courage to explain that their leader's sworn enemy saved them and that Ito didn’t actually kill the wraith as he currently believes. They could just about see Ito flipping his lid at being beaten again, despite having his life saved by Shizune and her companion.

-“… If I see you guys slacking again I’ll beat your ass into shape”
Ito lets go of his friend and scratches his head. In truth, something else bothers him even more. “Tch, there’s something different about Mitsuki” Ito does not understand that he can now get a sense of who could be Awakened, so he just stands there looking at where Shizune went, perplexed.

-“You were looking at Mitsuki kinda weird just now, Boss”
-“I was using the same eyes as always, the fuck do you mean?” Ito raises his voice at Baku's observation.
-“It’s like you were looking at a girl you like”
-“Say that again and I fuck your shit up, Baku” Ito says, getting right into his friend’s face and visibly fuming from his nose like an enraged bull.
-“See? See? Get your mind out of the gutter, man” Chou supports Ito, tapping Baku’s arm, and with that support Ito gives one last growl before leading the group into the school, both arms behind his head.
-“Heh, as if anyone would like Mitsuki. She ain’t pretty enough to look at, not even got tits” The nagging feeling that he’s missing something and that there’s something different is starting to annoy him, so he decides to just force his brain to forget about it after snarling
“Fucking weird”

-------------------------------------------------

The school day continues with the utmost normality, until there’s an announcement over the severely outdated school megaphones calling attention to classroom 3-B. The oddity of the announcement at this time of the morning doesn’t go unnoticed by Shizune, especially since it is specifically her classroom. Beyond finding it odd, it puts her on a hopeful alert; she has seen a similar situation play out before.

The broadcasting follows by explaining a student is required to go to the school counselor office. Said room that was generally used for everything except school counseling, given that Nantoka High was famous for making counselors quit their job. This announcement is on the behest of ‘a third party’, without much explanation beyond that.

 That confirms Shizune's suspicions: the Soul Hunter Society is behind this summoning. The Awakened faction that skirts the line between secrecy and forwardness the most, the 'SHS' has a well-established modus operandi in which they say just enough, but never specify. Such a vague request was exactly how they handled matters, knowing that any Innocent that asked questions would be led nowhere.
Shizune breathes in and is practically standing up already, a slight smile formed in her face. It was definitely the art gallery incident, and she had been observed, discovered even. She reasons that perhaps being the handler of the demon that actually destroyed the place is impressive on its own, and she is not incorrect. It can feasibly be a reason to be recruited on its own.

“Ito Daichi”
Shizune freezes in the middle of the motion of standing up, while her eyes open so hard and so suddenly it actually hurts.
Ito doesn’t even care what he’s being called for, but complies because it lets him skip class even a little. Passing by Shizune’s seat, he looks at the paralyzed young woman and calls her a weirdo before exiting the classroom and slamming the door closed.

It takes Shizune a good minute of half-standing there, immobile. Absolutely horrified by the prospect of being ignored in favor of Ito of all people, her mind starts to race through all sorts of explanations. Her reasonable mind can think that Ito is being called for something else, and that it didn’t necessarily have to be the SHS. Taking into account she doesn’t yet know of his Awakening and his spiritual emission didn’t have any changes, thinking the announcement to be the SHS is the actual leap in logic. Perhaps he is in trouble with the police, or someone who had wronged him. But with so much to lose, she decides her reasonable mind is going to shut up today. 

The voice of her teacher snaps her back to reality.
-“Mitsuki-kun, what are you standing up for?”
-“Sensei, I need to go to the bathroom!” she says, slamming the table, without thinking how serious her declaration was.
-“Well, break is in 15 minutes, you can go then”
-“I really need to go to the bathroom right now” She locks eyes with the slightly put-off teacher for some uncomfortable seconds, just to make her point.
“It’s an emergency!”
Shizune is not one that wouldn’t realize how embarrassing it sounded, but by powering through the cringe, she finally is allowed to leave the classroom, and she starts sprinting to the general area where the counselor’s office is, blushing and gritting her teeth.

-------------------------------------------------

Ito enters the office, finding a woman in her late twenties, with long black hair tied into a ponytail and wearing a black suit, playing with a coin between her gloved fingers. She sees Ito enter and takes off her sunglasses, looking at the young man in the eyes.
-“Ito Daichi, is it? You look just like your name sounded”
Ito has been looking at her cleavage from the first second he noticed there was an older woman there, and after being addressed, he looks at her face.
-“Yeah, that’s me, what about it?”
-“It seems you awakened your power yesterday”
Even someone as dumb as Ito knows that this woman means business.

-“Is this about the spider thing? It hurt my mates so I beat the shit out of it” He explains, fairly to the point.
-“And you destroyed half the building in the process… even taking into account many Awakened have a surge of power beyond their average when they first manifest their spirit power, that’s quite impressive”
Ito, naturally, remembers none of that.
-“Yeah. I’m awesome like that”
But that has never stopped him.

-“My name is Hibana Atsuko. Atsuko-san is just fine… that is, if you join us. I’m here on behalf of the Soul Hunter Society, and we could use your talents… just like you could use us to become stronger”
Ito grins. Important details aside, he gets the gist of what he is hearing and this recruiter is hitting all the right buttons to entice him. Before he can just accept on reflex, the two hear the sound of something crashing outside, and Shizune’s voice hollering insults at something, before the young woman in question opens the door and inserts herself into the conversation. A piece of paper sticks to the top of her head, a little goodbye gift from the trash can she crashed into due to decelerating incorrectly.
-“Wait, wait!”

-“Oi, Mitsuki, what the hell is this about? You’re cramping my style in front of a good rack”
Shizune cleans the paper off her head and fixes her glasses. More importantly, she purposefully chooses not to dignify what Ito just said.
-“Miss, you’re from the SHS, correct?” The timid yet perfunctory question is directed to an Atsuko that isn’t even looking at Shizune.
-“I don’t answer that to just about anyone who asks”
-“That sounds exactly like something someone from the Soul Hunter Society would say” Shizune closes the door and turns around, opening her hand and erecting a magical barrier around the room, confidently showing a little bit of her abilities to the recruiter.
“It’s better to talk about serious matters this way, isn’t it?”

-“Not really, no. Unless you’re implying I couldn’t create a barrier by myself if I needed one”
Alongside her words, Atsuko’s body language stonewalls Shizune in a way only a stupid person wouldn’t get that she isn’t welcome in the conversation.
-“Oi. Oi... What the fuck was that? The walls flashed blue and now I feel weird as fuck” Ito’s perfectly sensible question is ignored as Shizune and Atsuko lock eyes.
-“Ah… haha, no no, I just wanted to show you that I’m not an Innocent. I’ve been Awakened as a High Magus for four years now, but I have been trained formally in magic since I was ten. I have highly developed sorcerous lodes and I’ve scored no less than A-ranks on all my spirit power tests consistently over several years. Naturally, by the nature of my Inheritor Code I have a mastery of dozens of useful spells and my magic output has been catalogued as ‘dragon’. I have a spotless record and I have experience dealing with wraiths, yokai, demons and Innocents as well. I just wanted you to know I am currently not affiliated to any Awakened faction and I’m very willing to assist the Soul Hunter Society in any endeavor. I have all the proof to confirm my claims and if you wish to test any of what I’ve said. In fact, I can give you a demonstration right now… or whenever is good for you… oh, my name is Mitsuki Shizune, on that note. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to, Miss?”
Shizune lays down her skills and repertoire in a way that is confident but factual, without bragging, and in a very respectful manner to the recruiter in front of her. She is fully aware of how sudden her entrance is, but by all accounts she has given a quite impressive list of feats and facts that broadly speaking should make any Awakened an attractive prospect.

-“Very nice. So, Ito-kun, it seems you’re unfamiliar with barrier layers”
Ito did pay attention to Shizune, and visibly understood nothing of what his classmate had said, so he feels the need to reply something to Atsuko to not look dumb.
-“That sounds like something you put on cake”
-“Ah, a complete amateur. That’s not a problem, we can just give you a partner that shows you the ropes before you become a full operative for us” Atsuko crosses her legs and smiles.
Shizune is starting to breathe heavily, and when she notices the first strand of sweat coming down her brow, it increases her nerves exponentially. Taking a step closer to Atsuko, her tone changes into one that is less bombastic and more private.

-“I didn’t want to mention this miss, but I am a direct descendant of the Mitsushima clan, the main branch that’s been the head of the last 100 years. I am genuinely offering the SHS the assistance of a descendant of the Twelve Clans. I’m not just a random magician, please consider this”
Even if Shizune tries to keep her composure, her nerves are incredibly easy to notice.

-“We don’t have any ‘Mitsuki’ on our records of the Mitsushima clan”
Shizune is reluctantly about to explain the reason for that, but Atsuko doesn’t stop speaking, practically waiting to see Shizune starting to react before continuing on her own
“And besides, we have detected that Ito Daichi, the person I was told to interview, is a confirmed Blood Scion and inheritor of a Rank S Arc Slayer code”
-“He’s a what” Shizune blurts out, fully understanding what Atsuko just laid out.
-“Holy shit that sounds badass. I’m totally that. Like, double that. No less than the best for the Number One” Ito gets visibly hyped despite his evident ignorance.
-“You have quite the spirit. We can explain what all that means and more, but if you wish to exploit your potential to the fullest, you’ll need to officially join the Soul Hunter Society. I can deal with that in a couple of minutes and start your training as soon as possible… tomorrow? Perhaps even tonight”

Shizune’s trump card was completely ignored, leaving her stunned and shaking. Nevermind Ito taking what she felt was rightfully hers, the feeling of what’s likely an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slipping through her fingers and the creeping weight of all she could lose forever was enough to make her panic.
Shizune is about to completely lose her composure, but in that moment, one last, desperate measure awakens, channeling skills she thought had forgotten.

-“Ara, Ito-san, you must be happy by such divinely exuberant discovery”
Ito had never heard Shizune speaking with such a feminine and high-class intonation and that takes his attention away from Atsuko almost completely.
-“Eh? The fuck?”
-“To think one with such thinking deficiencies would be... Ah, apologies. Your pedigree is quite impressive -desuwa. It's just that I scarcely believed you could ever amount to anything, considering how unsatisfactory you are in gentlemanly matters…”

Shizune speaks with a hand to her mouth and with her eyes suddenly losing all tiredness. With her back straightened and her body language undergoing a sudden transformation, even her body appears more lady-like. Shizune is somehow shining with a stunning royal confidence, completely different from her dry snark.
“After all, everyone knows you’re just a chump that gets beaten up by girls in public! Oh~hohohohoho~!”

Ito’s confused gesture contorts into a oni-like scowl, now that Shizune has rubbed salt into an open wound. Her uppity aristocratic demeanor, despite being a surprise to Ito, feels like hot coals on top of the salt. And she’s saying this in front of what he recognized as a hot older lady, doubling the humiliation he feels despite Atsuko genuinely ignoring Shizune.
-“You bitch… you dusty bitch”
-“Oh? Did I hear an underwhelming little boy talking back? How unseemly… but it makes sense it scares you -desuwa. You know if I were to join the Soul Hunter Society I would keep humbling you. Oh, what a lovely thought to put you again where you belong… In the trash! Hoho~ You truly are fortunate to be scouted directly! This way the only person that’ll know I’m better than you will be yourself!”

Ito’s eyes twitch and he pretty much foams at the mouth, his now gorilla-like posture indicating that he has chosen to abandon his humanity and common sense. Ito is unable to see how terrified Shizune is inside, and only absorbing this obnoxious high-class lady attitude and those odd flairs in speech that somehow felt extremely natural despite coming from someone that looked like a homeless person. Ito’s higher brain functions are being replaced with pure anger, and a primal need to silence his rival, somehow. He can't do that if he just accepts the job offer then and there, so he goes with that feels right. 

-“OI, RECRUITING LADY” He yells at the woman sitting a mere meter and half away from him.
-“I GET THAT I’M A BIG FUCKING DEAL SO IF YOU WANT ME IN, YOU GOTTA MAKE HER JOIN TOO”
Predictably, Atsuko can’t process what’s going on Ito’s head, and only lets out a flat ‘what?’ that is soon drowned by more brutish yelling.
“YOU HEARD ME. THIS BITCH IS JOINING SO I HAVE TO SHOW HER WHO’S THE FUCKING BOSS HERE, OR I’M WALKING OUT”

Shizune’s heart practically stops. Her strategy is somehow working, but that only gives her the dreadful feeling that something could ruin it at any moment, so she tries one last gambit; a short mental message.
-“If you’re looking for a prodigy… It’s always better to have a backup plan, right?”
Atsuko looks at the papers on her hand, and inhales. To an experienced recruiter like her, this situation is ludicrous, but also to an experienced recruiter like her, their relationship started to make sense.

-“Very well. It costs nothing to have two internships instead of one” The woman says, half-shrugging before Ito continues yelling, but this time at his classmate.
-“SO SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, MITSUKI, NOW YOU’RE GONNA SEE WHO’S THE BEST HERE”
Shizune indeed shuts her mouth, not because of Ito’s orders, but because she is now functioning on autopilot. She is unable to conceive that her approach worked but wishing so much for it to work that she cannot bring herself to question it.

Atsuko provides both teenagers a seemingly-normal sheet of paper with terms and conditions of employment and two blank seals. Upon stamping the seals, a symbol representing each of their Inheritor Codes appears on the paper, and the ink the contract is written with fades into the ether, transported via magic to a separate record in the SHS headquarters for processing.
Shizune finally gives herself permission to breathe, and despite the fact she is about to cry from the stress she just felt, soon enough a tingle of happiness starts to appear in her heart.
Ito, for his part, is still fuming and stomping, but less so, and a spark of mischief and smugness starts to ignite in his heart. All he cares about is that he’s officially a big deal, and that the woman in front of him recognized he was superior to Shizune.

-"I’ll get in contact with you two tomorrow once your Codes have been reviewed”
The older woman fixes her sunglasses and leaves the room, with Ito looking at her leave, then pointing at Shizune.
-“Now we’re REALLY going to see who’s the best”
After that threat, the young man leaves, his ego sufficiently steeled to delay his anger from Shizune’s provocation. The magic user, for her part, now felt lightheaded and only manages a celebratory half-chuckle before collapsing from sheer mental exertion, hearing the ring of the recess bell as she hits the ground.