Yorui

As the morning sun begins to peek over the horizon, the boys make their way back to school. During their homeroom class, Ishio arrives at the campus, heading to the principal's office. As he walks towards the door, he hears lots of noises. He opens the door and stumbles upon a grown woman, panicking. 

Her silky, blonde hair, clipped by hairclips on one side, with a loose pigtail hanging from the other side, lets her clumsy, yet somewhat professional personality shine. Her tanned skin shows her darker complexion. Filled with scrunched-up pieces of paper and documents scattered around, the principal’s office is extremely messy.

Her room is always like that. Ishio always catches her knocking some over or causing a mess. And every time it happens, Ishio always is disappointed, like a big brother-little sister relationship. She probably knocked down the pile of documents. Ishio looks disgusted towards the principal at the sight of the mess. Hearing the door open, she assumes,

“Listen, I can explain Ishio,” embarrassedly blurts the principal, “You see, I was in the middle of…”

“Yeah, I don’t care,” responds Ishio, agitated.

She pouts. Afterwards, her face relaxes as she starts to be serious.

The principal thanked Ishio for taking the time to speak with her. Then, they revert to their original topic.

“What did you want to talk to me about Ishio?”

“Principal Tsume, can…”

“I told you already. You don’t have to be so formal, idiot.”

Ishio sighs. “Ok… Tsume.”

Principal Tsume grins happily, finally hearing her name.

Ishio continues. “Could it be possible if I could be a teacher again?”

Ishio isn’t an official teacher. He showed up yesterday to act as a substitute. Since it was he who requested it, the school allowed it. However, he knows he can’t just keep doing that. Principal Tsume begins to think about Ishio's offer.

She exclaims, “Ishio, your family is one of the three strongest clans in this world. You don’t need a team of students anymore since you can handle everything on your own. That’s what you told me, and that’s also why you left, right?”

“…” Ishio chooses not to answer, standing in silence, glancing away from her.

“After losing many of your comrades and past students, you strayed away to put anyone else in danger. What made you change your mind?

Ishio momentarily recalls the students he once taught and the comrades he fought alongside with. Many of his past comrades were close to him, growing up together. Afterwards, Ishio clears his mind, determined. He grins softly, exposing his dimples, and simply responds by saying these simple words, “It’s because I have hope.”

The principal is dazed. With his adoring gaze, Tsume stands there, pushing up her glasses, wondering if she heard correctly. “Why do you mean by that?”

Ishio refuses to respond as he stands in deep thought, with his eyes closed, grinning. It’s like his soul has travelled to a different world, his body an empty vessel. Feeling left out with no explanation, Tsume is flustered. Her childish side starts to show as she tugs on his top, bugging Ishio to explain his answer, pouting. Constantly whining and bugging isn’t enough to wipe away Ishio’s expression. In the end, she never gets the answer she wants.

___

Later in the day, the students are talking amongst each other in their classroom. Surata is talking amongst his friends while Koroki is sitting outside alone, looking towards the sky. The teacher returns to class, and Surata can hear the bell ring shortly afterwards. She informs the students that an assembly will be held later today. The students are excited.

“Oh man, I wonder what this assembly is about.” exclaims a student.

Another student says, “It’s probably going to be about an upcoming test.”

All the students who overhear the word “test” become gloomy, changing the room's aura. The teacher stares at her students with a smile, unable to do anything about the mood. She then notices Koroki, who is sitting alone, staring out of the window, and walks up to him. “C'mon Koroki, class is about to start.”

“Yeah, I’m aware.” Koroki sounds uninterested in being here.

Ms. Shirai laughs awkwardly at Koroki. “I know you’re still new here, but try to get along with everyone else.”

“Ok, Mother and I’ll be sure to do the dishes later too,” Koroki replies, using sarcasm as his way to end the conversation.

“I’m not your mother, I’m your teacher.”

___

After class, the students gather outside on the school’s ground floor, waiting for the assembly to start. Surata and Koroki stand in front of the crowd. The teachers line up towards the students, standing behind the principal. 

Since everyone seems to be here, Principal Tsume clears her throat, ready to welcome the students. “Hello, everyone! I am the principal of this school, Principal Tsume. Thank you for coming!”

The students cheer sarcastically, wary of it being an assembly of exams. Tsume tilts her head, catching on to their expressions. “What’s with the gloomy mood here? What did your teacher tell you guys?”

The students don’t respond. Their slouched expression and their frowned expression alert Tsume. The standstill crowd makes the air uncomfortable.

Tsume feels the gloomy aura slowly surround her. “Wow, what a dead crowd,” mumbles Tsume. “Anyways, today we have a special announcement! The annual “Tournament of Heart” is coming up. For those who don’t know, it’s a tournament organized by every Noye school in the country. Meaning that you lovely children will be battling it out against the other schools to find out which school is the strongest.”

The students cheer with excitement.

“The Tournament of Heart? The same one which Father had won before? If I win this tournament, I can be one step closer to my goal!” Surata’s determination has reinforced his mindset, fixating on becoming victorious.

On the other hand, Koroki frowns in displeasure. “A tournament? Really? Doesn’t anyone have anything else better to do than waste their time on something like this?”

Principal Tsume continues her speech. “This tournament will be held in 3 months. To help you train, you will be assigned to your personal teacher in groups of 3. You will be chosen based on many factors.”

The students begin to chitchat amongst themselves.

“Our own personal teacher, I hope I don’t get Mr.Latro,” a student says.

“This is going to be a piece of cake!” another says.

Principal Tsume ends her speech by saying, “So, make sure you practice and beat the living crap out of the other schools.” Her voice deepens, her aura turning darker. “If you don’t, expect a whole month's worth of exams.” The students were scared as they didn’t want exams.

“Just kidding! Ha-ha,” Principal Tsume laughs, back to her persona.

Just like that, the assembly ends, and the boys carry on attending school until the final bell rings.

Surata decides to stay after school for more training. He asked Koroki if he would like to join his club, but Koroki automatically refused, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

___

While on his way home, Koroki finds himself walking past an alley. Nearby, he spots police cars parked. His curiosity piques. In the alley, the entrance seems to be blocked by yellow “cautious” tape. Inside, he stumbles upon a couple of police officers and detectives walking around something that looks like a crime scene.

In cases like this, this isn’t Koroki’s business. It could just be a simple crime. Crime like this happens anywhere. The only thing that caught his interest was the police officer. Plus, he doesn’t know anything, so he shouldn’t budge. That’s his mindset. But he can’t help but overhear the police officers chatting.

“This is the 7th one this week.”

“I know, and every victim always has the same cut on their body.”

“Same cut on their bodies? 7th one this week?” His interest piques even more.

Koroki waits until the officers leave the scene. Once they leave, Koroki lifts the yellow tape and enters the scene.

The area is very dark, the surrounding buildings covering the light. Trash falls from the overfilled dumpsters while rats run around taking shelter. The lingering smell of flesh and garbage filled his nostrils. 

After scouting the area, he notices a dead male body covered in blood, swarmed by bugs. The body had its clothes removed, along with its accessories. It is deeply slashed from its chest to its waist, cutting through the tissue. Koroki looks closer at the body’s face and notices a cut on its’ cheek. This victim has the letter “Y” carved into their skin.

Koroki spits on the ground, annoyed, uttering, “What a waste of time.”

“What’s a waste of time?” wondered a voice.

“Who said that?” Koroki quickly is on guard, wondering how he didn’t notice their presence. He looks around for the voice and stumbles upon a girl sitting on the fire escape staircase in front of him.

This girl, with her clothes torn and ripped from various parts. Her long, dark-green hair is filthy, and her scent is disturbing. Her dark, brown, soulless eyes glare at Koroki.

“This entire crime. That’s what I mean by waste of time,” explains Koroki.

“What’s wrong with stealing?” asks the girl.

“I didn’t say that was wrong.”

“Huh?” She is perplexed. “So… what he did isn’t wrong?”

“Who knows?” Koroki stares at the dead body. “I don’t understand the whole carving fetish thing, but I can understand the stealing part.”

“What do you mean?”

“People steal for many reasons. Some do it to survive, while others do it for pleasure. I don’t know why this person did it, but until I understand, I can’t say whether it was wrong or not.”

“…” The girl is stunned by Koroki’s response. It felt as though her eyes were giving light for the first time. After a moment of silence, Koroki gives his goodbyes, leaving the scene and the girl behind. The girl begins to reminisce about what Koroki said earlier:

(I don’t know why this person did it, but until I understand, I can’t say whether it was wrong or not.)

A shadow appears to be lurking, overhearing their conversation. The shadow’s eyes suddenly light orange and laugh in the distance.

___

Surata arrives at his home late from school, because of some extra training he does after school. “I’m home!”

“Yo,” murmurs Koroki.

“Hey, so I was thinking. We should go shopping.” offers Surata.

“That’s so boring.” Koroki lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Why do you want me to go?”

Trying to avoid another kidnapping, bringing someone along might be better. Also, this can be a great way to get closer to Koroki. With that in mind, Surata suggests, “We can get you some more popsicles.”

A new limited-edition strawberry-shortcake flavor has recently come out. Without hesitation, Koroki gives in to Surata’s bribing, his attitude completely changing, “Shopping sounds like a great idea.” To attack a strong opponent is to find his weakness. Koroki’s self-discipline toward sweets became his weakness.

His thoughts water with excitement. “Let me get my wal-“ As he reaches into his pocket, he notices his wallet is missing. He instantly starts patting his entire body down, then looking around the room desperately…but no luck.

Depressed as he is, the last time he remembers having it was after school. Using that knowledge, he realizes he must’ve dropped it near the crime scene. Without a second wasted, Koroki scurries out of the house to retrieve his wallet.

Arriving back to the alley, he looks around for any clues. He checks every corner, pile, and crevasse possible. Once again, he still has no luck.

“Damn it. My only chance to get this popsicle before it’s sold out, and I can’t find it! I hope a rat didn’t mistake it for food.”

Koroki decides to check around the entrance, thinking it's his last chance to find it. His concentration is so focused that he doesn’t notice a familiar face approaching him.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to find my wallet,” Koroki glances at the voice. Somehow, not remembering the voice, he realizes it's the girl from the alley. Her appearance is entirely different, however. 

This time, her clothes look clean and newly bought. Her hair is brushed. Where did she get all of this from? The girl quickly notices a homeless man nearby, briefly turning her attention away from Koroki. She casually approaches the homeless man and decides to give him money. A single thank you from the man couldn’t stop the happiness from leaking from her face.

“What’s with the new clothes? Looks like you just stole them,” smirks Koroki.

“I didn’t steal them. I bought them.”

“Bought them? With what money?”

Bragging about her wealth, she gloats, “With the money I stole from y…” she quickly realizes that her tongue slipped out, exposing herself.

On the bright side, at least he found out where his wallet was. However, this slight sense of relief can’t contain the ticking anger building up on Koroki’s body. As a result, Koroki heard her and was furious.

“It was you!” yells Koroki. “Give me back the clothes!”

“No way! Are you going to undress a woman?” provokes the girl.

Koroki’s face quickly turns red out of embarrassment, avoiding eye contact. “Huh!? No, I wouldn’t do that-”

Thump!

Trying to catch him off guard, she quickly releases a high kick toward Koroki.

Instinctively, Koroki blocks the kick with his left hand.

His facial expression reverts to serious. “Woah, what’s this? You wanna fight me?

“Yeah. I’m not giving this back to you.”

“That money better have been important.”

“Better with me than you.”

The two kids start what looks to be a brawl. His opponent is female, so he decides to go easy on her. Hurting her too badly would ruin his image. She is having a difficult time landing a hit on Koroki, as all her attempts are being blocked.

Her jaw clenches as her eyebrows fall lower than usual. Out of pure frustration, realizing her disadvantage, her eyes suddenly glow dark green.

Koroki’s eyes widen, frozen in place while blocking. “A green Noye?” Even though it was unexpected, he doesn’t think highly of it.

After activating her Noye, her strikes suddenly feel more powerful. Koroki steps back, trying to assess the situation. She isn’t an average girl. She continues her barrage of strikes, somehow landing multiple hits on Koroki.

“I was expecting this. Things just got a little more interesting.” Koroki’s half-smile begins to leak out.

Their little skirmish continues. Realizing how strong their opponent is, Koroki finally decides to fight back. Back and forth they go, landing punches and kicks at each other. The girl quickly inspects Koroki while maneuvering. Dodge after dodge, and she can’t see his eyes change color, let alone find his marking.

“He can fight with me without using his Noye? Who is this guy?”

After a few more blows, their energy level rapidly depletes. They simultaneously fall to the floor, exhausted, catching their breath. Their fight ends in a draw. Both were exhausted, trying to catch their breath. While tired, the girl’s resonating green eyes pulsate back into her original dark-brown color.

“You’re pretty good… for a poor girl,” gasps Koroki while sitting, leaning on his arms as support while tilting his head back towards the sky.

“You’re pretty good… for a pink-haired loser,” replies the girl, lying on her stomach with her hair slightly covering her face.

Finding the energy to snap back, he lowers his head. “Huh… what did you call me?”

The two stare at each other, laughing at their current situation. Two kids fighting in an alley because of money then ends with them lying in the alley’s filth. What could be more ridiculous than that?

“What’s your name?” asks Koroki.

“Yorui, you?”

“Koroki.”

They begin to recover for a moment. Yorui gathers her energy to sit up. “Hey, sorry about the money. I gave the rest of it to the other homeless people around.”

“It’s fine. I can deal without it. So, what made you want to live like this?” Koroki sarcastically asks.

Yorui explains, “It isn’t really a choice. I just try to survive. A lot of people here are fighting to survive. I’m just doing it my way. It’s eat or be eaten out here, and I prefer to eat but also let others eat, too. I don’t like being selfish all the time.”

Koroki begins to understand her situation. He picks himself back up and lets her keep what she bought.

Yorui continues to sit, perplexed. “You’re letting me keep it?”

“I’m already full of eating, so I don’t mind letting some good people eat. It looks like you need it more than me anyways, so keep it. Think of it as a gift. Probably should’ve bought food instead of clothes tho’.”

Yorui smacks her lips, seeing Koroki chuckle at his comment.

Koroki turns his back. “Just remember, instead of stealing my money, you could have just asked.”

Yorui freezes in place, staring at Koroki. Those words grab Yorui’s heart, causing it to skip multiple beats. It’s like someone confessing their love. Her cheeks puffed up, blushing.

Koroki casually leans his head on his lifted arms and heads home, leaving Yorui alone. As Koroki walks away, a silhouette emerges from the shadows, overhearing their conversation. The silhouette begins to laugh menacingly as its eyes glow orange.

___

It’s the next day, and the entire Aoi family is home. The boys are in the living room. Surata is watching TV while Koroki takes a nap on the couch while reading comics. Ishio ascends from his room and approaches the boys, bringing good news.

“Alright boys, looks like you have your first mission.”

Koroki wakes up from his slumber, lifting the book that covered his face. “Mission? Since when do we get missions?”

“Well, to be honest, they want me to deal with it, but I think you boys should be able to manage it yourselves.”

“Alright, Father.” Surata eagerly exclaims. “Yes, my first mission! This is my first step to becoming a real Shikari.” His excitement causes Surata not to be able to sit still.

Koroki lets out a yawn before rubbing his eyes. “So, you want us to do your dirty work?”

Because of how unmotivated Koroki is, Ishio decides to add a comment. “You will obviously get paid for doing this.”

“Paid?” Koroki rapidly gets up from the couch like a spark of energy was injected into him. “Where do I start?”

His excitement gets interrupted when Ishio immediately punches Koroki on the head, causing Koroki to faceplant the floor, creating a small hole.

Surata shakes his head in disappointment. “You should have seen that one coming, Koroki.”

“You should accept my offer to help me, even if no money is involved.”

“Stupid old man,” Koroki mumbles as he recovers.

Ishio goes back to the topic. “Anyways, there have been reports of a serial killer roaming these streets. His name is Majuro the Manslayer. They say every victim involved has the same carving on their cheeks. They suspect he is a powerful Noye user. It has become too hard for the police to track him down, so they want me to hunt him down.”

Koroki is deep in thought, quickly remembering the crime scene he saw earlier.

“There’s also another thing. Reporters have said there is someone else collaborating with the killer.”

Koroki decides to head out to grab some fresh air. However, as he opens the front door, an expected guest is waiting outside.

“Um, hello, is Koroki…” The guest slowly looks up at Koroki. “Oh hey, baby!”

“Baby?” questions Surata.

___