The battle against Mizaru had ended that night—not in victory, but in survival. Kairos' village was gone, his family with it… but Gentoki hadn't left him behind.
Instead, the lieutenant had looked at the hollow-eyed boy covered in blood and ash and said simply:
"Are you coming or not?"
And just like that, Kairos stepped into a world he never knew existed beyond the rice paddies and misty forests of his childhood—the floating city of Ryūketsu, heart of Ishikawa's hunter forces. A fortress suspended between sky and sea, where warriors trained not just to fight monsters… but to wield Kizugami blades alongside them.
Ryūketsu was nothing like Kairos imagined. Towering pagodas glowed under eternal lantern light while hunters adorned in kimono moved through streets paved with engraved steel. But what struck him most wasn't the grandeur—it was the discipline here compared to his quiet village life.
Gentoki walked ahead without glancing back as they crossed a bridge suspended over clouds themselves:
"This place isn't for the weak-willed," he warned as wind whipped at their sleeves. "Every hunter here has sworn their life to protecting others. So tell me—why do you want this?"
Kairos clenched his fists at his sides before answering truthfully:
"...Because I don't ever want to feel powerless again."
Training under Gentoki wasn't just about strength—it was about purpose. And soon enough, two others joined Kairos' daily drills:
1) Yua Aihara - A firebrand recruit whose loud mouth hid razor-sharp instincts ("Again!" she'd demand after every loss). Her relentless drive pushed him harder than any instructor could have managed on their own.
2) Kiyara Sana - Silent but deadly; her precision with dual kodachi made even veterans wary when sparring against her ("…Stop hesitating," she told Kairos once after knocking him flat).
Over time though... something unexpected happened between them all during those grueling days spent sparring until bones bruised and muscles screamed.
Gentoki approaches Kairos one evening after training—just as the sun dips below Ryūketsu's floating bridges, casting everything in molten gold.
And for the first time, Kairos really takes in the lieutenant's appearance:
- Hair like sunlight – long, wild and spiked with streaks of sun-bleached blonde breaking through natural black.
- A jagged scar running from his temple down to his jaw—old but striking against tanned skin.
- Eyes that refuse to dim, even now; sharp amber flecked with warm brown, always scanning like he's memorizing every detail around him.
- A single red bead bracelet tied loosely around one wrist (later, Kairos would learn it belonged to someone important).
But what stands out most isn't how he looks—it's how he carries himself. Unshakable confidence without arrogance; strength tempered by kindness in every movement… Heroism made flesh.
Gentoki folds his arms and leans against a wooden post before repeating that same question from years ago:
"So? Why do you want to be a Hunter?" His voice is quieter this time—less challenge, more curiosity as twilight settles over them both.
"To protect what's important," Kairos answers instantly, without hesitation.
Gentoki raises a blonde eyebrow, almost in disbelief—like he'd been expecting something more profound. "That's it?"
Kairos can't tell if the lieutenant's mocking him or not. He bristles on instinct.
"What do you mean that's it?" he snaps back. "Isn't protecting the ones you care about enough reason?"
Gentoki leans forward then, an amused half-smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "It's the most common reason new hunters give."
"Everything we do has a deep reason behind it," Gentoki answers simply.
Kairos can't help but scoff at that. "Then what's yours?"
Now Gentoki's gaze does sharpen slightly—but that same amused glint remains in his eyes. He stares off across Ryūketsu for a moment, watching the last rays of sunset sink below the floating fortress.
Finally he speaks. More quietly this time.
"You really want to know?"
Kairos' eyes narrow. He can tell this isn't a story Gentoki shares often. That alone piques his interest.
"Yeah." He stands up straighter, meeting Gentoki's gaze head-on. Something in the air feels charged suddenly, crackling like lightning before a storm.
"…I want to know."
Gentoki exhales—not quite a sigh, but close.
He turns his wrist slightly, letting the red bead bracelet catch what's left of the fading light. For someone so larger-than-life in battle… he suddenly seems almost human at this moment.
"My reason is simple," he finally says. "I fight because I can." He glances at Kairos sidelong then—testing if the boy understands. "Not everyone gets that privilege."
Kairos frowns, thrown by how casual Gentoki sounds despite the weight behind those words... but before he can press further—
The lieutenant pushes off from the post and stretches lazily like none of this mattered at all. "Your turn again," he smirks over his shoulder as walks away into Ryūketsu's evening glow. "Find a reason worth bleeding for."
Kairos watches Gentoki leave, frustration and curiosity still churning in his gut. But there's something else there too—
An urge to prove himself.
"I did find a reason!" Kairos grits out after him.
Gentoki just throws a casual wave back without breaking stride. "Keep looking," he calls, voice lost in wind.
That challenge hangs heavy in the air long after he's gone. For a second, Kairos looks like he might yell something else... but he clenches his fists instead.
Two weeks later, word comes down that something dark and ancient has awakened in the rural regions of Ishikawa.
Reports describe chaos: villages burned, crops dying, livestock slaughtered... and worst of all, rumors of people disappearing without a trace.
Gentoki calls for a meeting the moment the news reaches Yua, Kairos and Kiyara. They're all present in his private quarters aboard Ryūketsu as the lieutenant explains their new mission:
"The higher-ups think it's a Kaimon," Gentoki tells them grimly, "an old one."
Kairos scoffs at that. "Ugh—why are there always Kaimon everywhere?", he groans.
Gentoki gives him a stern look. "Because Kaimon are a fact of life here," he answers firmly, leaning against the table. "And they don't pick and choose who they harm." It's a sobering reminder of the reality they face as hunters.
Meanwhile, Yua just grins across the table at Kairos.
"Scared already?"
Kairos' face burns red. "Shut up! I'm not scared!"
Yua just smirks wider. "Coulda fooled me," she teases, leaning back with her arms behind her head. "You're the one acting all twitchy about some old Kaimon."
Gentoki sighs—here we go again.
Meanwhile, Kiyara remains silent as usual... but even she raises an eyebrow slightly at Kairos' flustered reaction. It's enough to make him even more embarrassed.
That night, Kairos sits alone on the wooden balcony of Ryūketsu's training grounds.
The stars are bright—just like they were back in his village. He used to stare at them for hours as a kid, listening to his grandfather's stories about heroes and legends. The memory makes something tighten in his chest.
His family would have loved this place. The thought comes unbidden but doesn't hurt as much as it once did... not after all this time. Now, instead of grief, he just feels a quiet resolve settle over him like an old cloak:
"I won't let anyone else lose their home." He grips the railing tighter before standing up abruptly—determined more than ever now to see this mission through properly... no matter how many Kaimon stand in their way tomorrow morning when they set out…
Kairos walks through Ryūketsu's lantern-lit streets, the soft glow casting long shadows as he makes his way to a quiet café tucked between two towering pagodas. The place is nearly empty at this hour—just an old man behind the counter polishing glasses and a couple of off-duty hunters chatting in low tones near the back.
He orders tea (his grandfather's favorite) and takes it to a corner table by the window, watching moonlight ripple across Ryūketsu's floating canals below. For once… his mind isn't racing with thoughts of battle or blood or revenge—it's just quiet. And that's enough for now.
(Little does he know this peace won't last.)
Kairos glances up from his tea as a sudden burst of harsh whispering cuts through the café's usual calm.
At a nearby table, two hunters are hunched over, voices tight with tension:
"You heard what happened in Niren Valley, right?" one mutters, fingers gripping his cup like it might shatter. "Something tore through an entire squad last night—no bodies left behind. Just... gone."
His companion pales slightly before leaning in closer. "They're saying it's not just any Kaimon this time—it's acting differently."
The first hunter lowers his voice even further—but Kairos still catches the fear laced through his next words:
"...Like it's hunting us now."
Kairos' grip tightens on his cup as the hunters keep whispering, remembering Gentoki's words from earlier:
"Kaimon are a fact of life here. They don't choose who they harm…"
Suddenly the café feels a lot more stifling as the weight of that truth hangs heavily in the air. And when the hunters finally fall silent, one thing is crystal clear—
They're terrified. And if they're this scared... what could be waiting for them tomorrow in Niren Valley?
As Kairos leaves the café, he bumps into a woman heading inside—a female hunter he's never met before.
She turns, giving him a once-over that's both sharp and amused. She's tall (almost his height), lean but with the muscular strength of someone who knows how to move and defend herself in a fight.
Her dark eyes are sharp beneath a fringe of straight black hair, and her kimono is a vibrant crimson. A pair of kodachi rest in ornate sheaths on her back—the hilts carved with spiraling water designs that remind him of Gentoki's red beads.
"You new here?" she asks, arching an eyebrow.
Kairos straightens under her gaze, feeling oddly self-conscious suddenly. "Uh yeah," he fumbles. "Just joined the hunters a few weeks back." He hopes he sounds more confident than he suddenly feels.
Her expression doesn't change—but those eyes are still studying him closely, as if searching for something. She even takes a step closer, standing only a few inches away now.
"How old are you?"
Kairos stiffens slightly—that's an oddly direct question. "Seventeen," he answers warily.
The woman lets out a sharp laugh, shaking her head as if she expected exactly that response. "Figures." She steps back and finally introduces herself: "Mizuki Harada—senior hunter out of the West Branch." Her smirk returns as she glances at his still-half-full tea cup. "Try not to look so tense, rookie—the Kaimon can smell fear."
Before Kairos can even process that (or ask why she seems so casual about everything), Mizuki is already brushing past him toward the counter without another word… leaving him standing there feeling like he just got sized up by a predator and deemed unimpressive.
(He has no idea how important this encounter will be later.)
Standing in the center of a ruined neighborhood, Kairos faces down Mizaru with unshakable resolve.
"I became a Hunter for two simple reasons," he begins resolutely, eyes locked on the legendary fox.
Mizaru scoffs but there's something in her eyes now—a flicker of genuine curiosity as he speaks. "Oh?"
"The first reason," Kairos continues, not missing a beat, "is because I want to protect the world."
Mizaru actually laughs then. "Save the world, huh? How predictably heroic," she remarks, the derision in her voice thick as honey.
But Kairos doesn't react to her taunt. He just keeps talking, voice steady.
"The second reason," he goes on evenly, "is because I want to prove myself."
That gets Mizaru's attention again. She raises a brow, eyes searching his face intently.
"No one's ever believed in me," Kairos continues, each word carefully chosen. "Not my family. Not my village."
Mizaru crosses her arms, interest piqued now. She tilts her head slightly, studying him like she's trying to puzzle something out.
"And you think becoming a Hunter will change that?" She challenges me.
"No," Kairos says calmly as his Kizugami ignites with raw power, "I already have."
🌀 End Of Chapter Twenty Two