The streets around the mission site were eerily silent, windows were shut, doors bolted and there was not a single soul in sight.
Soya shifted uncomfortably, glancing around at the empty road. It was like the whole place had been vacuumed of life.
Sora noticed and casually waved a hand.
"Yeah, that's normal. When a Yurei shows up, the government puts out an order, 'Don't leave your homes.' Helps minimize casualties."
Soya's stomach twisted at the word: casualties.
Ahead, the others had stopped in front of an old, run-down convenience store, its neon sign flickering faintly in the gray afternoon light. The air felt... heavier here, like something unseen was pressing down on his chest.
Sora came to a halt, hands in his pockets.
"Kazane. Set up a Kekkai."
Kazane cracked her neck and stepped forward.
"Got it."
Soya blinked, eyebrows furrowing.
"Kekkai? What's that?"
Sora didn't look at him, he was busy scanning the rooftops, eyes sharp and distant.
"Barrier technique. Keeps the Yurei trapped inside the area. Think of it like... putting a lid on a boiling pot."
Kazane snapped her fingers, and in an instant, a faint shimmer crackled across the air, encircling the street.
Soya felt the hair on his arms stand on end.
He glanced at Sora. "Wait, couldn't you just do the barrier? You're the teacher, right?"
For the first time, Sora's grin faltered. His gaze flicked away, toward the horizon, toward nothing.
"I'm... bad with barriers," he muttered.
Soya tilted his head. "Bad at it?"
Sora shrugged, too casual. "Let's just say me and barriers don't get along. Not my thing. So I let Kazane handle it."
Soya caught a flicker of something unspoken in his tone. The others didn't react, like they'd heard it before, or maybe just knew better than to ask.
Kazane turned back to them, her voice sharp and sure.
"Barrier's up. The four of us will handle whatever's inside."
Soya frowned.
"Wait, we're not going in?"
Sora's grin came back, wolfish.
"Nope. You and I are staying out here. There's a high-level Yurei somewhere in this area... and I want you to see what a real one looks like up close."
Soya's stomach dropped.
Kazane shot Sora a look. "You sure about that, sensei?"
Sora didn't flinch. "Yeah. He needs to understand what we're fighting."
Soya swallowed.
The other students were already stepping into the barrier, vanishing into the shimmer like it was water.
Soya stood there, feeling the weight of it all settle in his chest.
A Yurei.
A real one.
And no way to run.
Sora glanced down at him with that same lopsided grin.
"Ready, kid?"
Soya gritted his teeth and nodded, though his hands trembled at his sides.
The hum of the barrier faded behind them as Sora and Soya left the others and walked down the empty street.
The air felt colder here. A light breeze stirred bits of trash along the cracked pavement, old wrappers, faded leaves, a single soda can rattling quietly across the asphalt.
They passed boarded-up shops and rusted fences, turning down a side street that led to a massive, abandoned factory. The building loomed like a skeleton, its windows shattered and metal beams exposed like ribs.
Soya stared up at it, an uneasy pit growing in his stomach.
Sora's hands were shoved into his pockets, his voice casual.
"I don't usually tag along on first-year missions."
Soya blinked, glancing over at him.
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah." Sora tilted his head, cracking his neck. "Doesn't matter if it's first years, second years, or even the hotshots in the third. They've gotta handle their own fights. That's how you learn in this job, trial by fire."
He paused in front of the factory gate, kicking a loose stone.
"But this mission... felt different. A report came in about a big Yurei, something nasty. Higher-level than the usual trash you guys deal with."
Soya's eyebrows furrowed.
"So you're here because... of the Yurei?"
Sora glanced at him, a smirk tugging at his lips, but his eyes stayed sharp.
"That, and because of you, kid."
Soya stiffened. "...Me?"
"Yeah." Sora leaned against the fence, watching the wind tug at Soya's uniform.
"Your ability. Those Shikigami of yours... I've never seen one quite like it. And let's not forget all those little curses tangled up inside you."
He tapped his temple with a lazy finger, eyes half-lidded but gleaming with curiosity.
"I'm curious what you'll become."
Soya shifted uncomfortably, feeling like he was under a microscope.
"I don't even know what my ability is yet."
"Exactly." Sora pushed off the fence, cracking his knuckles. "That's why I'm here. Call it a... teacher's intuition. Or maybe just a bad feeling in my gut."
Sora's gaze drifted toward the darkened factory entrance, his expression growing distant, almost... tired.
"Big Yurei like this don't just pop up without a reason. Well sometimes they do,"
The wind howled softly through the broken windows, sending a chill down Soya's spine.
Sora looked back at him, smirking.
"Stick close, kid. Things are about to get interesting."
The factory groaned as they stepped deeper inside, the rusted beams overhead creaking in protest. The air was thick, heavy with something wrong, that Soya couldn't quite explain.
Soya glanced nervously at Sora, gripping his sleeve.
"Hey… remind me again, why'd you bring me along if this thing's supposed to be dangerous?"
Sora gave him a sideways grin, hands stuffed into his pockets.
"Because if things get spicy, I know your Shikigami will protect you. And me, by extension."
Soya's stomach dropped.
"Thats…kinda reassuring"
But Sora wasn't paying attention anymore. His eyes flickered, and his posture shifted.
"...Besides. They're Kinshin. As strong as they come. Especially the one you've got…"
He trailed off, voice lowering like he'd said too much. His gaze sharpened, flicking toward the shadows.
Then the Yurei hit.
It surged from the dark like a nightmare, its form barely holding together, half-flesh, half-twisted mass of teeth and bone, trailing wisps of black smoke.
Soya froze, a chill running down his spine.
Sora? He barely blinked.
"Alright," he muttered, stretching his neck. "Let's make this a teaching moment."
The Yurei lunged.
Sora sidestepped, the claw swiping harmlessly through empty air.
"First off," he called, hands still in his pockets, "you don't have to be calm in a fight. But it helps. Keeps your energy stable."
He pivoted on his heel, bringing up a finger like a lazy gunslinger.
"See, most people go through the day feeling both good and bad stuff, right? Happy, sad, angry, whatever. It all mixes together. And what you get is…"
He pointed at the Yurei, index finger cocked.
"Neutral Soul Energy."
A small, swirling orb of light-blue energy flickered at the tip of his finger, humming softly.
The Yurei hissed as it began charging again
FZZZZAP!
Sora's orb condensed into a thin beam and fired, slicing clean through the Yurei's shoulder. The thing recoiled, screeching as it crashed into a support beam. Smoke and sparks filled the air.
Soya's eyes widened in shock.
Sora kept talking, as if explaining how to fix a bike.
"Neutral Soul Energy's your default. It's what most Exorcists use, and what most can only use. Stable, reliable, does the job."
He shifted his stance, extending his hand with his index, pinky, and ring fingers out, middle finger curled and thumb braced against it. His grin sharpened, a little dangerous now.
"But things get dicey when you start talking about Negative Soul Energy…"
A maroon-red aura flared to life around his hand, dark and violent, like a flame that wasn't meant to be seen.
Soya felt it, like the air itself turned heavy, pressing down on him.
Sora's voice dropped, more serious now.
"Yurei are born from Negative Soul Energy. So fighting fire with fire? Kinda pointless."
The Yurei stirred from the rubble, its wounds already stitching back together.
"But," Sora went on, eyes glinting, "Negative Soul Energy amps your attacks way better than Neutral does."
The aura crackled, forming into a dark red orb outlined in black, pulsating with raw energy.
"To use it," he continued, locking eyes with Soya, "you gotta lean in. Really focus on those negative feelings, anger, resentment, guilt. Mix it into neutral energy."
Soya watched in awe, heart pounding, as the aura flared brighter, an oppressive, violent force filling the room.
Then Sora's voice dropped low, almost playful.
"Now… watch this."
He flicked his folded finger open–
BOOM!
The orb detonated outward in a massive, expanding shockwave of maroon light, slamming into the Yurei and swallowing it whole.
The entire factory shook. Dust and debris rained from the ceiling as the blast echoed, the Yurei's form shredded by the raw force.
Soya's mouth hung open.
Sora shook out his hand, grinning like a kid who just won a game.
"Lesson three: energy types matter. You gotta know which to use and when to use it, it could be the difference between you living or dying."
The smoke began to clear,
And the Yurei… still wasn't down.
It writhed in the wreckage, piecing itself back together, its form warping even more grotesquely than before.
Soya's heart hammered in his chest.
Sora's smirk faded, replaced by a focused, serious look.
"…Tough one. Looks like we're not done yet."
He glanced back at Soya, voice low.
"Stay close. I'll handle this, you just watch."
Soya nodded, gulping down the panic rising in his throat.
Because whatever that thing was… it wasn't finished.
And neither was Sora.