The first thing Kenji noticed was the smell of freshly cooked rice.
The second was the uncomfortable cushion beneath his head.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Sunlight slipped through the living room curtains, casting pale rectangles across the floor. A clock ticked on the wall, while the familiar hum of the refrigerator drifted from the kitchen.
Kenji stared at the ceiling.
...Huh?
He turned his head.
The coffee table. The television. His schoolbag beside the couch.
His eyes widened.
Wait. What happened?
A growl echoed in his ears.
Three pairs of molten eyes flashed through his mind. Flames swallowed the narrow street, and heat washed over his face.
Then came the image of a black-haired girl raising a sword wreathed in orange fire.
Sayuri Tanaka!
Kenji shot upright.
"Shiori!"
His hands flew across his body. He checked his arms, chest, and legs, searching for the injuries he remembered receiving.
Nothing.
Not a single scratch.
He pressed his palm against his side.
But I remember getting hit!
His fingers tightened around his shirt.
I remember the pain!
"Big brother?"
Kenji whipped around.
Shiori stood at the kitchen entrance, holding a glass of water. She blinked at him before slowly lowering it.
"Are you okay?"
He stared at her.
"Shiori, what happened after we left school?"
She tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
"On our way home. What happened?"
"Oh, that."
She walked over and placed the glass on the coffee table.
"You suddenly fell down and fainted. You scared me half to death!"
Kenji's mouth fell open.
"...I what?"
"You heard me! One minute you were walking beside me, and the next you were lying on the ground."
She folded her arms.
"You wouldn't wake up when I called your name, so I flagged down a taxi and brought you home. I didn't know what else to do!"
Kenji stared at her face.
Her eyebrows drew together.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You don't remember anything else?"
"Anything else about what?"
His throat tightened.
No. That can't be right.
He remembered the growling.
The flames.
Shiori lying unconscious in his arms while three monstrous dogs chased them through the street.
He remembered struggling to stand. He remembered shielding her when one of the creatures lunged.
And he remembered Sayuri.
Her crimson eyes.
Her flaming blade.
The sharp hiss of steel cutting through the air.
I remember everything.
"Big brother?"
Kenji slowly lowered his hands.
Was Shiori's memory altered?
His gaze drifted toward the front door.
If that's what happened, then someone must have done it.
He sprang off the couch.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"I have to check something!"
"Check what? You just woke up!"
Kenji grabbed his shoes and shoved his feet into them.
Shiori hurried after him.
"At least tell me what's going on!"
"I'll explain later!"
"Kenji!"
He yanked the door open and rushed outside.
The door slammed behind him.
Shiori stood in the entrance, staring at the empty doorway.
"...What's gotten into him?"
She glanced at the glass he'd left untouched.
Then she looked down at her hands.
For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that something about yesterday was wrong.
But no matter how hard she tried, nothing else came to mind.
---
Kenji raced down the street.
His shoes struck the pavement as he darted between pedestrians, ignoring the confused looks thrown his way.
I have to figure out what's happening.
His breathing grew heavier.
Those flame-breathing dogs. That flaming blade. The pain I felt...
He clenched his fists.
It can't just be a dream!
A bicycle bell rang behind him.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry!"
Kenji swerved around the cyclist and continued running.
He could still remember the heat washing over his face. He could still hear the creatures snarling behind him.
If he'd imagined everything, why could he remember every detail so clearly?
Come on! Where are you?
He rounded the next corner.
Then stopped so abruptly that his shoes scraped against the pavement.
Across the street, a familiar girl was slipping through the entrance of a small house.
Long black hair.
A dark school uniform.
Crimson eyes that seemed to burn even beneath the afternoon sunlight.
"Tanaka..."
Sayuri disappeared inside.
Kenji bent forward, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
She lives around here?
He straightened and stared at the house.
For several seconds, he remained where he was.
What if she refuses to talk?
He remembered her expression when she'd appeared between him and the flame hounds. She'd moved as though fighting monsters was an ordinary part of her day.
And when he'd tried asking questions afterward, she'd left before he could get a single answer.
Kenji swallowed.
Well, standing here won't get me anywhere.
He crossed the street.
His hand hovered above the door.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then he knocked.
Knock. Knock.
Footsteps approached from inside.
The door opened.
Sayuri stared at him.
"...Kawamura?"
"Tanaka. We need to talk."
Her gaze moved from his face to his schoolbag, then returned to his eyes.
"You're supposed to be resting."
Kenji's eyebrows twitched.
"So you do know what happened!"
Sayuri said nothing.
He stepped forward.
"Three monsters attacked us on the way home. You showed up with a sword made of flames, and then I blacked out. When I woke up, I was at home without a single injury!"
He took a breath.
"And my sister doesn't remember any of it!"
Sayuri's expression changed.
Only for a moment, but Kenji caught it.
"You remember the attack?"
"Every second of it!"
She studied his face.
Then she stepped aside.
"Come in."
Kenji blinked.
"...Seriously?"
"Do you want answers or not?"
He hurried inside.
Sayuri closed the door behind him.
---
Kenji sat on the edge of a chair in the living room.
Sayuri stood beside the window, her arms folded across her chest.
Outside, a car rolled past. Somewhere nearby, a dog barked.
Neither of them spoke.
Kenji finally threw up his hands.
"Okay, what's with the dramatic silence? You invited me in!"
"You talk too much."
"And you don't talk enough!"
Sayuri turned her head.
"Do you always shout at people who save your life?"
Kenji opened his mouth, then closed it.
"...That's not the point."
"Then let me speak."
He slumped back into the chair.
"Fine. Go ahead."
Sayuri faced the window.
"The creatures that attacked you were flame hounds. They're supernatural entities, not ordinary animals."
Kenji stared at her.
"Supernatural entities?"
"Yes."
"You expect me to believe monsters like those are just wandering around the city?"
"I don't expect you to believe anything. You saw them yourself."
Kenji rubbed his forehead.
"...Fair enough."
"People with extraordinary abilities exist in this world. Some can manipulate elements. Others possess physical abilities far beyond what's normal."
Kenji glanced at his hands.
"And you can control fire."
"Among other things."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you don't need to know everything about me."
"Unbelievable."
Sayuri gave him a flat look.
"Would you prefer I throw you out?"
Kenji leaned back.
"...No."
"Then stop interrupting."
He muttered something under his breath.
Sayuri ignored him.
"The flame hounds weren't acting randomly. They were pursuing someone."
Kenji's expression hardened.
"Me."
"Most likely."
"Why?"
She turned away from the window.
"Because someone is interested in your hidden abilities."
Kenji went still.
"My... what?"
"Your abilities, Kawamura. The ones you may not even realize you possess."
The room seemed to grow quieter.
A memory surfaced.
Blonde hair.
A hand wrapped around his wrist.
The woman's fingers tightening until he'd struggled to pull free.
Your ability hasn't awakened yet.
Kenji's eyes widened.
That woman!
Sayuri noticed his expression.
"You've met someone, haven't you?"
He looked at her.
"On my first day at school, a blonde woman grabbed me outside the school grounds. She was ridiculously strong. She said something about my ability not having awakened."
Sayuri's arms slowly dropped to her sides.
"What did she look like?"
Kenji described her, including the unusual strength he'd felt when she gripped his wrist.
By the time he finished, Sayuri's eyes had narrowed.
"That woman..."
"You know her?"
"I know enough to tell you to stay away from her."
Kenji leaned forward.
"Who is she?"
"I can't answer that."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
He dragged a hand down his face.
"You're making this really difficult, you know that?"
"And you're making a lot of noise."
"How am I supposed to stay calm when you're telling me I have some mysterious ability and monsters are trying to kill me?"
Sayuri's expression sharpened.
"Because panicking won't help you survive."
Kenji fell silent.
She stepped closer.
"The people interested in you belong to an organization called the Black Lotus."
He frowned.
"The Black Lotus?"
"They operate behind the scenes. They search for people with unusual abilities, especially those whose powers haven't fully awakened."
"And what do they do with them?"
Sayuri met his eyes.
"Recruit them. Study them. Control them."
A chill crept down Kenji's spine.
"Control them?"
"Not everyone they approach gets a choice."
He remembered the blonde woman's grip and the casual smile she'd worn while examining him.
His fists tightened.
"So they sent those hounds after me?"
"I suspect they were involved, but I don't have proof that the Black Lotus ordered the attack."
Kenji looked toward the floor.
For a moment, the only sound was the ticking of a clock in the next room.
Then he raised his head.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Be careful. Don't trust strangers who suddenly show an interest in you. And don't demonstrate anything unusual you might be capable of."
Sayuri paused.
"Most importantly, keep your sister out of this."
Kenji's eyes hardened.
"Don't bring Shiori into this."
"Then protect her. But don't confuse protecting her with pretending nothing happened."
His jaw tightened.
Sayuri reached for the doorknob.
"I've told you what I can. Now go home."
"Wait! What about my injuries? I remember getting hurt, but there's nothing wrong with me!"
Sayuri stopped.
Her gaze shifted toward him.
"You said you're completely unharmed?"
"Yes! Not a scratch!"
For the first time, Sayuri looked genuinely troubled.
Her eyes moved over him, searching for something he couldn't see.
"That shouldn't be possible."
Kenji straightened.
"What does that mean?"
Sayuri's lips pressed together.
"Nothing. Not yet."
"You're doing it again!"
She opened the door.
"Go home, Kawamura."
Kenji stepped into the entrance, then looked back.
"Tanaka... why did you save me?"
For a moment, she didn't answer.
Her crimson eyes drifted toward the window.
"Because I was there."
"That's it?"
"That's all you need to know."
The door closed between them.
Kenji stood on the doorstep, staring at the wood.
"...What a pain."
But the name she'd given him remained in his mind.
Black Lotus.
He started down the path, his thoughts returning to the attack.
Three flame hounds.
A mysterious girl with a flaming sword.
A sister who remembered nothing.
And a body that had somehow recovered without a single injury.
What exactly is hiding inside me?
---
Far beneath an unremarkable office building, elevator doors slid open.
The blonde woman stepped into a dim corridor, her heels clicking against the polished floor.
Two guards straightened as she approached a pair of reinforced doors.
They opened without a word.
Inside, a man sat behind a broad desk, examining several photographs on a monitor.
He didn't look up.
"You're back."
The woman stopped before him.
"My investigation is complete."
"Excellent. What did you discover?"
She placed a folder on the desk.
"Kenji Kawamura's ability has not shown signs of awakening. However, his physical resilience is abnormal. During our initial encounter, his body withstood force that should have incapacitated an ordinary person."
The man finally looked up.
"How abnormal?"
"His body endured considerably more pressure than I would expect from someone without an active ability."
The man's fingers stopped tapping against the desk.
"You're certain his ability hasn't awakened?"
"I detected no clear signs of activation."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Interesting."
The woman continued.
"After the encounter, three flame hounds attacked him. Tanaka Sayuri intervened and eliminated two of them. The third retreated."
At the mention of Sayuri, the man chuckled.
"That girl never could resist sticking her nose into other people's business."
The blonde woman remained silent.
"Did the boy survive?"
"I haven't personally confirmed his condition after the incident."
The man glanced at Kenji's photograph.
"Still, if Tanaka intervened, survival is likely."
He enlarged the photograph on his monitor.
Kenji's face filled the screen.
The man studied it for several seconds, his earlier amusement fading into thoughtful silence.
"An unawakened ability... yet his body can withstand that degree of force."
He leaned closer to the screen.
"Tell me. Did he display any unusual behavior during your encounter?"
"He attempted to resist me, but he showed no conscious control over any ability."
"Hmm."
The man tapped a finger against the photograph.
"Perhaps he simply hasn't realized what he's capable of."
The blonde woman waited.
Finally, he smiled.
"After all this time... how amusing."
"Should I retrieve him?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
She raised an eyebrow.
The man stood and walked toward the glass overlooking the facility below.
"Not yet. I want to see what happens when the boy realizes the world is far stranger than he ever imagined."
He turned toward her.
"Continue observing him. Don't approach him unless necessary, and don't provoke Tanaka without my permission."
"Understood."
The blonde woman turned toward the door.
"One more thing," the man added.
She stopped.
"Yes, sir?"
His eyes returned to Kenji's photograph.
"If his ability awakens, I want to know immediately."
"Of course."
She left the room.
The doors closed behind her.
Alone in his office, the man remained before the monitor.
His smile slowly returned.
"An ability that hasn't awakened..."
He tapped the photograph once.
"...and a body that already defies expectations."
The screen reflected in his eyes.
"Let's see what you're hiding, young man."
His quiet laughter echoed through the empty room.