"Take good care of him, Kohaku."
Kohaku simply nodded. Before taking him to the room, he went to see the facility's doctor to have his wounds treated.
"What a surprise to see you here, Kohaku."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha~~~. Good morning, Koko. I found a new toy; I hope you can fix him up."
"Are you doubting my ability?" The woman looked at him with a cold, threatening glare.
"No~, no~, I trust you~~."
---
At Ren's house.
He was looking for Takumi.
"He's gone again…" Seeing that his best friend's belongings weren't there, he murmured to himself. "Where did you go, Takumi?"
Ren slumped onto one of the sofas. He couldn't understand how all of this was happening to him.
His parents weren't with him, as they had gone to Hokkaidō for the birth of his little brother, and Takumi had disappeared again.
"They don't even call me from the AOE… this is horrible."
The young man went out to check his mail, finding a letter with the seal of the Association of Exorcists.
"Finally," he said excitedly as he ran back inside. Upon opening the letter, he read it in one go until his gaze focused on what interested him the most.
"Rejected."
It broke his heart, until he saw another, black letter. His hands trembled as he opened it.
"Due to your previous rejection, we are willing to offer an extra opportunity. If you wish to obtain more details, proceed to the address written on the card."
Ren couldn't believe it. He had been rejected, but they were also offering him a chance to try again.
Determined and excited, he packed all his belongings and left his home.
---
Elsewhere, the sun streamed through the thin white curtains, illuminating the entire room with its glow.
A young man sleeping peacefully slowly woke to that light. He didn't understand where he was, but he could perceive a faint scent of hot chocolate and toast.
"Mmm…" Takumi carefully got out of bed, looking around at nothing but white walls and a polished wooden floor. "Where am I…?"
He observed everything carefully, and it felt familiar. Several flashbacks crossed his mind and he remembered what had happened.
He snapped out of his trance when he heard the squeak of the door opening.
"Good morning~~!"
"You…" He looked at the man cautiously.
"Congratulations, you passed the exam!" Kohaku said while popping confetti in his face.
"… Seriously?"
The man nodded.
Takumi could barely hold back his tears; never in his life did he think he could pass such a test.
"That means…" Kohaku spun a full circle, making his poncho twirl with him as he pulled out a dark purple uniform. "This represents that you are one of us," he said enthusiastically, seeing the surprise on the boy's face.
Takumi carefully got out of bed, the pain from his wounds almost imperceptible compared to the excitement he felt.
After a few minutes, Takumi finished changing. The uniform fit him well, with a hood and a very comfortable style.
"Perfect, take this." He tossed him a pin.
"Okay…" The boy seemed somewhat distracted; all his wounds were covered in bandages and gauze. "What is this pin?"
"It's your class."
"So…" Takumi observed his green pin.
"You are Class Empat."
"Is that bad?"
"You're at the very bottom of the food chain, ha ha ha. Let me explain: white is Class E; gold is Class S; pink is Class Satu; silver is Class Dua; copper is Class Tiga; and green is Class Empat."
The young man could only nod and carefully follow Kohaku.
"You are officially an exorcist to me, but to everyone else, you're still a damned Maldit."
---
The path was more extensive than it seemed. The wood creaked, the scent of trees and wildflowers mingling with that of the timber.
"We're here~~. Wait here for a moment, and when I call you, come in. Understood~~?"
Before Kohaku could enter, the loudspeaker sounded. It was the Director:
"All exorcists currently in the facility are to report to Tokyo immediately. A Class Satu Ghost is attacking the city and reinforcements are needed."
Kohaku smiled and quickly peeked into the room, finding the classroom empty.
"Good, let's go. You'll meet them in a moment."
"What?"
Kohaku dragged Takumi out to the main courtyard.
"Now you'll find out what it really means to be an exorcist."
Kohaku got ready and hoisted Takumi onto his back.
"Ready? Go!"
"Whaaaaaa?!"
Kohaku soared into the sky with great power, running along the branches of the trees.
This guy is crazy!
Takumi held onto Kohaku with all his strength.
The albino kept running, frantic and excited, through the entire forest. They continued until the branches ran out.
At that moment, the man took a great leap, reached the power lines, and continued running along them.
"Ahh!" Takumi couldn't stop screaming, feeling the wind on his face.
How can he run so fast on power lines…?
The young man looked down, watching as they overtook cars.
"He's faster than a car!"
"Little Takumi, if I were you, I'd close that mouth before you swallow a fly," Kohaku said, laughing.
Takumi looked at him with a mix of annoyance and amusement on his face, but before he could respond, a fly went down his throat.
"Agh! That's disgusting!"
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, I warned you!" he purred between words.
Takumi decided to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the journey and only spoke with his mind.
Now that I think about it… this guy is barefoot.
"Right, you should use this. You have a foreign partner."
Takumi grabbed the strange earpiece and put it on, still not understanding what it was for.
---
After a long journey, Kohaku walked over the parked cars, finding the exorcists, civilians, and journalists.
Kohaku analyzed the creature: a gelatinous monster made of trash. He immediately increased his speed, grabbed Takumi by the scruff of his shirt, and shouted:
"Your savior has arrived!" he exclaimed with euphoria, throwing the boy like a spear against the creature.
"Take this!"
Takumi went flying amidst screams, the wind whipping his body.
"Ahhh!" he screamed, extending his hands reflexively to cover himself. He pierced the Ghost's viscous chest like a cannonball, shredding it.
Luckily, Takumi's body landed on a giant inflatable doll.
Kohaku rose above everyone. The Ghost began to reform.
"Ryouma, let's play truth or dare. I dare you to destroy the Ghost with what you have. If you don't… your truth will be that all the deaths of exorcists and civilians will be your fault." Kohaku's presence became threatening.
Ryouma frowned, annoyed. Another game where he was made responsible for everything.
The journalists approached upon seeing Kohaku.
"And the Class E exorcist has just arrived. His way of encouraging his colleagues is very unusual, which makes him unique."
Kohaku smiled upon hearing the praise.
At that moment, Takumi stood up shouting:
"Why did you throw me out of nowhere?!"
The man didn't respond. Instead, Ryouma approached Takumi, grabbed him by the shirt, and threw him against the creature again.
"I accept the dare."
Ryouma began giving orders to his companions:
"Kagetsu, Rossetti, go and distract the Ghost. I'll handle it."
"Roger!" they responded in unison.
Takumi watched everything with admiration.
The young man with hazel eyes ascended into the sky, while his companions drew the Ghost's attention and the journalist narrated the fight with excitement.
Kohaku watched the scene with a wide smile.
Ryouma descended from the sky with a dump truck full of fresh cement that poured over the monster, solidifying it. One of the women began destroying it with a pair of knives.
"Hotaru!"
Rossetti gave a piece of the Ghost to the other woman, who placed it on a voodoo doll.
"I hate getting dirty, you damn pest. Take this for ruining my clothes!" she exclaimed as she hammered the doll, causing the Ghost to explode.
With unexpected speed, Kohaku caught all the flying pieces before they crashed into buildings or people.
All the parts began to evaporate.
"Hello, beautiful," he commented in an unusually deep, husky voice, catching a piece of the Ghost that was flying towards the journalist. "You should be more careful when reporting the news."
"Y-yes… thank you very much."
"Stop flirting!" shouted his three students, looking at him angrily.
Kohaku laughed and approached them.
"Such rude children."
---
After a few minutes ensuring the medical teams took away the injured and the dead, Kohaku introduced his students.
"Alright, kids. This young man here is your new best friend. Treat him well~~"
Takumi looked at his colleagues. He recognized one of them: Ryouma, a very well-known exorcist despite his age.
"I know you," said the green-eyed girl. "You're the idiot who let all his comrades die!"
"But look, they're already getting to know each other~."
The black-haired girl approached Takumi with a threatening attitude. He stepped back, but Kohaku intervened.
"No, no, Livia. Introductions first, then the fight."
Then, Kohaku began with the introductions:
"This is Ryouma, son of the Kamizuki clan. He's 15 years old, very cold… be careful or he'll freeze you~~" He chuckled.
"Hotaru Kagetsu. She's 15 years old."
"And this is Livia Rossetti. She's Italian, she's a Maldit like you, so I'm sure you'll be good friends."
Takumi nodded fearfully; that girl looked like she wanted to kill him.
"Now that you're all together, I'll introduce myself. I'm Kohaku, 30 years old. My beauty is abnormal, I love seafood, and I'm a fan of animations. Also, I'll be your teacher this year…"
The atmosphere became tense. They all looked at each other, doubting one another.
Kohaku just smiled, waiting for someone to say something.
---
While the tension remained in the group, in another part of the city, a man with black hair and another with white hair walked alongside a woman and a small child.
"Libby, stop running around the store."
The young woman stopped chasing the small child.
"This is why I told you it was a bad idea to bring the brat and the crazy woman."
"Don't say that, Shiro! Besides, you need a woman to look after you," she mentioned lovingly, gently stroking the albino's arm.
"Let me go before I strangle you," his voice was threatening and left no room for doubt.
"Ugh, grumpy. What about you, Sora?" she approached carefully.
"Libby, stop acting like that or I'll leave you here. Besides, you know in public I go by Abaddon."
This saddened her greatly, but neither of the two men paid her any attention.
"Don't cry, Aunt Libby, let's just keep shopping."
"Oh, little Cyrus, you're the only one who doesn't treat me badly."
The two men sighed in despair.
"Shiro, did you send the letters…?"
"Yes, I also already spoke with Makisig and the old man."
"Good. This will be a magnificent year for great changes."