The First Day of Your Life (1)

A flood of anxiety seeped into Hiro’s face as he looked at himself in the mirror, before quickly being replaced by a shit-eating grin that took up almost half his mug. After spending months preparing for the civil service exam, taking said exam, passing said exam, and getting all his affairs in order, he was finally accepted into the Bureau as a junior investigator.

Of course, he still had to attend the orientation and take the practical exam, but he had every confidence he would be able to pass with flying colors.

Today was his first day on the job, and he needed to make a good first impression. He wiped the smile from his face and readjusted his tie. Making sure that there were no blemishes on his pressed uniform, he applied a few puffs of cologne and slipped in a few breath mints as an added measure.

“Don’t screw this up, Hiro.” He pointed menacingly at his own chest in the mirror. “You need this job. The rent’s overdue, the cup noodle cabinet is almost empty, and you need money to fuel your rampant gacha addiction. Got it?”

He psyched himself up by slapping his own cheeks until they were a light shade of pink. Pain was a small price to pay for financial stability and employee benefits.

Hiro Watanabe was, by no means, a normal human. He was a hanyou, a half-breed, the son of a human mother and a yokai father. His mother was a renowned exorcist in her time, now retired and living off pension. As for his father, well, he disappeared when he was a young boy. Growing up, he was always told that he was the best of both worlds, and he believed it.

The thing about hanyou is that they’re incredibly volatile. Both physically and emotionally. A recent study concluded that hanyou were more prone to emotional outbursts and mental illness. Hiro didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, he was a normal twenty-five-year-old with a penchant for video games and gambling.

Okay, maybe there was something wrong with him.

In terms of physical volatility, all hanyous exhibited varied degrees of volatile blood. Some could shape and control their blood, turning them into weapons or tools to aid with combat. Others could synthesize supernatural proteins called hemophages that could corrode objects or explode with fiery force. Some could do both. Of course, too much use of their volatile blood could lead to complications like anemia and bone marrow disease, and sometimes even death. Hanyou who had sufficient mastery in blood arts were called Sanguinars, and they represented the most common type.

Some hanyous developed a second unrelated ability born from the union of human and yokai lineages. Sometimes the offspring would inherit one or the other parent’s powers, sometimes both. On rare occasions, a mutation could occur, giving birth to a new and unique ability unrelated to parental heritage.

Even more importantly, hanyou, could create a binding contract with a Patron deity. This Patron could be a god, a land god, or something else entirely. In such cases, the hanyou would acquire great power which stemmed from their origin Patron. However, this had the unintended effect of suppressing blood volatility. This meant that some lost some or all of their blood-related powers when they entered into a contract. Hanyou who entered willingly into a binding contract were called Harbingers.

Reo himself was a Sanguinar in training. He could shape his blood into weapons and tools, but his control was still fragile and prone to breaking apart. He still hadn’t mastered the ability enough to synthesize hemophages, but he was slowly getting there. In terms of secondary powers, well, he still hadn’t shown any.

“Alrighty, let’s get that bread,” he declared, storming down the hallway towards the front door.

Hiro picked up his briefcase and headed out the door of his two-bedroom apartment. It was a ten-minute walk to the nearest station and from there, a twenty-minute ride to Hanayome Grand Tower in Ikebukuro where the rest of his life would begin.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs is a classified service branch of the Japanese government. Established in 1947, the bureau is responsible for identifying, regulating, and controlling anomalous entities and phenomena. They are also responsible for mediating activities and relations between humans and yokai.

Currently, the Bureau is subdivided into three essential departments each tasked with a facet of the organization’s mission. Each department is composed of various permutations of yokai, exorcists, and hanyou working under a united front to safeguard the sanctity of both worlds.

The first is the Department of Investigations whose headquarters is Hanayome Grand Tower in Ikebukuro. The department essentially functions as an investigation firm and is responsible for looking into all sorts of paranormal, supernatural, and anomalous incidents in the country. Employees of this department are called investigators, and this, coincidentally, is where Hiro is assigned to.

The second branch of the bureau is the Department of Corrections, an auxiliary branch working from their headquarters called the Jinya in Asakusa. Corrections, as their name suggests, is responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of supernatural criminals. As part of the rehabilitation process, Corrections offers criminals the chance to work off their sentence by becoming pseudo-employees of the bureau. These prisoner employees are called sinners and are often sent into the most dangerous situations under the watchful eyes of an investigator.

The third and final branch is the Department of Containment, working from the mysterious 24th Municipal Ward of Tokyo as their base of operations. Containment is tasked with researching methods and developing protocols for the containment and neutralization of supernatural threats. Employees of this department are fondly called containment specialists.

Together, investigators, sinners, and containment specialists worked together to keep the Bureau functioning.

“Excuse me, pardon me.”

Hiro weaved through the crowds, deftly avoiding stepping on toes, and bumping shoulders. A giant man with horns growled at him in annoyance as he slipped into the building entrance.

Hanayome Grand Tower was a 50-storey high-rise building that masqueraded as a typical insurance company. The first few floors were designed to specifically throw off intruders. From the fifth floor onwards, the department’s true operations unfolded. Armories full of bureau-issued regalia, offices where eagle-eyed investigators pored over reports. Aside from a dedicated medical and research division, the building also housed the Soul Forge, an intricate ritual room that forged thrice-blessed regalia.

Hiro marveled at the grandiosity of the building. The lobby itself sported a contemporary design with wide open glass panels to let in as much natural light as possible. The furniture was all shiny and kept. There was even a small fountain in the middle with a statue of something or someone he didn’t recognize. He had been here before, but this was the first time he truly felt like he was part of something. His weird grin returned and only the stares of other creatures snapped him out of the daze.

“Excuse me, I’m here for the orientation,” he approached the front desk.

“I see, and may I have your name?”

The lady manning the front looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. Hiro saw that she had horns and blue skin, a telltale sign of oni lineage. He glanced down at her employee ID on her chest and saw the words Akane printed in legible script. Akane’s stern eyes glossed over him before scowling.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to-.” Realizing, he had been staring at her chest, quickly Hiro averted his gaze.

“Please sign the guest book, and we’ll have you sorted out,” she said succinctly.

“Cool,” Hiro grabbed a pen and scribbled down his name and signature.

“Mister Hiro Watanabe,” she confirmed. “Please sit down, and we’ll call you when ready.”

“Sure.”

Hiro took a seat on a velvet couch by the side. Crowds of people and yokai passed him by, each one as unique and imposing as the next. There was an employee with a burning flame in place of a head, a cheery-eyed investigator whose entire lower half was a bundle of tentacles, and even a seductive succubus with horns and wings who gave him a sly wink.

A few minutes passed and he began to feel restless.

Just how long was this going to take?