It was a bright morning with birds chirping and warm sun rays filtering through many windows in the neighbourhood.
A woman was standing infront of the door, fumbling in her bag, searching for keys. She was wearing a professional looking black dress with dark blue glasses. She looked to be in her early twenties, with beautiful long black hair cascading down her back. In her other hand she had a bag of groceries, and she was finding it difficult to open the door now that she had finally found her keys.
She managed to get the door open but she was left out of breath from cursing under her breath. But as soon as she stepped inside her demeanour changed to joyful and sweet.
"Kiyo? Kiyo…! I'm home from my business trip. Are you home?" She said as she took off her black boots and made her way to the Kitchen.
She placed her bags on the counter and then she opened a drawer, pulling out a glass cup and turned on the tap. She poured herself a glass of water, gulping it down quickly.
'It's eerily quite in here. Is he not home?' She thought. "Kiyo!" She shouted once more.
'I should call him.' She said as she opened her phone and went through he contacts list. 'Little Kiyota.' The name came up.
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"haaaah…" Kiyota sighed as wiped off a bead of sweat from his forehead. He had been training swordsmanship with a wooden sword in a brightly lit facility. He swung the sword in a diagonal slash from the right but lunged left. The earlier slash was a feint, he got close and lifted his sword to the recruit's chin.
Just like Kiyota, there were many new recruits in the CCG's Ghoul Investigator Training Academy that were all training to graduate and become investigators. Kiyota had moved in a few days ago and had started to get used to the environment.
Kiyota lowered his sword. The recruit he was sparring with, a nervous-looking guy named Fuko, gulped and nodded, clearly intimidated. Kiyota felt a flicker of pride but mostly just exhaustion.
'My daily training and regularly playing basketball seems to have paid off. I'm actually good at this, like really good. Maybe even better than basketball.' He thought, a strange sense of excitement bubbling within him. 'What's surprising is that Rika has already graduated from this place… Meaning she's a powerhouse.'
Kiyota gazed turned to the instructor as she began speaking.
"That's enough for today. You're all dismissed." The fierce looking woman said with a grunt. Her hands were folded as if she were not impressed with the majority of the new recruits.
'I should shower and then go to sleep quickly. Tomorrow's going to be a physical examination test early in the morning.' Kiyota thought as he placed the wooden sword on a holder and left the room with a white towel around his neck.
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She pressed the call button, and the phone rang twice before a sleepy, muffled voice answered. "Hello? Sis?"
"Yeah dummy, it's me. Where are you? Come home im back from my trip. Be quick, let's order food today." She said as she heard a faint sigh on the other end. "Don't tell me you're still at that stupid gym, Kiyo."
Kiyota groaned, running a hand through his hair. "I can't come home." He was lying on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed. It was the assigned lodging for new recruits at the academy.
"What do you mean you can't come home? Are you in trouble? Tell me where you are, Kiyota!" His sister's voice that was usually sweet, was now panicked. Kiyota sighed, knowing this conversation was going to be difficult, and he would definitely get shouted at by his domineering big sister. She had practically adopted the role of a mom for Kiyota.
"I'm not in trouble, exactly. Ahh… I'm at the CCG Academy." Kiyota said, bracing himself for the explosion he knew was coming.
"YOU WHAT?" She bellowed into the phone angryily before taking a deep breath to calm down. "Okay… And why are you there, Kiyo? Don't do anything stupid, Im coming to pick you up." She said softly.
Kiyota closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Hana, please just listen. It's… it's complicated. I signed up to be an investigator. I'm a recruit here at the academy."
There was a long silence on the other end, so profound Kiyota wondered if the call had dropped. Then, Hana's voice came back, oddly quiet, almost a whisper. "Kiyota... what have you done? You can't… You can't be an investigator."
Kiyota flinched at the raw pain in her voice, a feeling far worse than any ghoul encounter. He knew why she was acting this way. "Hana, I know this is a lot, but I really think this is what I need to do."
"What do you know? You don't know anything… You're just a kid. What about your basketball dream, Kiyo." Hana's voice was soft, tears were falling from her face. "I don't want you to be an investigator. Listen to your big sister."
Kiyota's jaw tightened, a stubborn resolve hardening his expression. "My dream changed, Hana. This is more important than basketball." His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
"You don't have to worry about money, Kiyo. I'll take care of it… I promise. That's why I've been working soo much. Your big sister will take care of everything, you don't have to risk your life like this." Hana pleaded, her voice was cracking with emotion. Kiyota felt a pang of guilt, but his resolve remained unshaken.
"It's not about the money, and I'm not risking my life yet. The academy will teach me everything, Hana… I'll be a strong investigator. Just like dad…" Kiyota said with a shaky voice, his eyes were tearing up aswell now.
Hana let out a choked sob, the line going silent again except for her ragged breathing. Kiyota knew she was thinking of their father, a CCG investigator himself, who had died in the line of duty years ago.
"Kiyo… please. Don't do this. I don't want to lose you too." Her voice was quiet and muffled, thick with tears. Kiyota squeezed his eyes shut, the weight of her plea pressing down on him.
"Hana, I'll be back once next weekend anyway. We can talk later…? I love you…" Kiyota said, his voice softening. It was in a desperate attempt to reassure her. Hana didn't reply and the call disconnected with a soft click.