Ryo and Kouji entered the building. Kouji was full of energy at the thought that he would now live here and work with other Hunters to make the world a better place. His first step, through the double glass doors, felt like stepping into a new life.
–It looks a bit like a hospital.He thought this as Ryo walked a little faster to the center of the building and spoke to an older woman at the reception desk. Meanwhile, Kouji admired the decor. It looked modern but not pretentious, a nice balance.
"Are you coming, Kouji?"
"Oh, yes."
Ryo's voice broke the silence, surprising Kouji. He was too engrossed to notice that Ryo had already returned.
"First I'll show you your room, then I'll give you a full tour."
–Is it really that simple? I didn't have anything I was attached to, but can I just dedicate my life to this group?
Kouji was deep in thought as he walked into the annex alongside Ryo.
–I have to. For her.
The annex was connected to the main building by a simple passageway.
–It looks like all the rooms for the Hunters are in the building next door.
Ryo and Kouji entered an elevator, and Ryo pressed the button for the fourth floor. The elevator looked relatively simple: a one-way door, a mirror on the ceiling, and a window behind them overlooking the street. Looking in the mirror above, Ryo's head was perfectly visible from above. His white hair showed no signs of color.
–Is his hair not dyed?
"Is your hair naturally white, you have no color roots?"
"No, no. Only a few have naturally white hair," he said, smiling at the question. "I don't dye it with color, but with my Kyoukai, that's why it doesn't have any color showing."
–Kyoukai? I suppose that will be explained to me later.
"Do you like white, or why did you choose it?"
"That white is a reminder. I'll tell you about it sometime."
"Understand."
DING!
The elevator doors opened; he had arrived on the fourth floor. On the way to the room, there was silence between the two of them, and then when they finally stood there.
"Here is your room. It has a bathroom with a shower, bathtub, and toilet. The wardrobe is directly to the left of the entrance, and there's only a bed. If you ever need a kitchen, I'm in room 201; you're welcome to cook something there, as long as I get some too."
–He just wants someone to cook for him, but I think it's a good offer.
"Then I'll show you the rest."
The two went back to the elevator. Ryo pressed the button to call the elevator, and it was there less than a minute later.
"Fast."
"So late, there's hardly anything going on. The late shift belongs to the experienced hunters, so they're out and about right now."
The two re-entered the elevator, and once again Kouji, using the mirror, looked down at Ryo from above. Ryo pressed the button marked 0, and the doors closed. The elevator descended normally, but it stopped at the first floor before reaching the ground floor. The doors opened, and a man with crimson hair also entered the elevator. He had piercing yellow eyes. Unlike Kouji's, which were a darker shade of yellow, his were bright.
–He looks strong, isn't he on his way?
Ryo's facial expression has changed, is he angry?
The elevator continued to the ground floor and the two got out. The red-haired man stayed and continued down to the basement.
"Who was that? He looked strong."
"That was Akechi. He's the current boss here."
–My first day here and I'm already making a bad impression on my boss.
"Don't worry, he doesn't judge so quickly."
There was a slight fluctuation in Ryo's voice. Kouji still couldn't interpret the situation.Does Ryo like him or not?, he wondered.
While the two were talking, they had already walked from the main entrance into a hallway. Ryo opened a door on the right, which revealed another kitchen.
–Phew. So there's also a separate kitchen.
"Here is the kitchen. Everyone is welcome to use it, but anyone who uses something up has to buy it again."
There was another door in the kitchen, this time a sliding door. Ryo pushed it open, revealing a young man sitting in the room. The boy had dark blue hair and wore a loose-fitting jacket. Everyone they had encountered so far had worn suits or at least more formal clothing, but the young man sitting there was dressed casually.
"Yuusuke," Ryo's voice broke the silence again, "Another midnight snack?"
"I was just hungry."
Suddenly—a ringtone. Ryo's phone started ringing, and he took it out of his pocket. Kouji couldn't see the whole screen, but he could see the first letter of the caller's name: a K. The call was quick, and Ryo put his phone back in his pocket.
"I need to go somewhere quickly. Yuusuke, please show Kouji around and introduce yourselves." And before Kouji knew it, Ryo was gone.
"Yo, I'm Yuusuke," he said casually, extending his hand, which Kouji looked at and didn't return, instead nodding.
–Is he one of those hotheads who doesn't think things through? I can't figure him out.
"I am Kouji."
After the two had introduced themselves, Yuusuke stuffed the remaining piece of sandwich into his mouth and the two went back into the hallway.
"So you're the new guy Chikako was talking about."
"What?"
"The older woman at reception said Ryo had come again with someone new."
"Again?"
"Ryo is constantly bringing new people here; he's like walking advertisements."
Yuusuke laughed.
"Chikako is very nice, I think you'll be fine, but since she works the evening shift, you'll hardly see her. Yumi takes over the morning shifts, and she's the one who gives you your missions."
–Yumi and Chikako, too.
"Why do you want to become a Hunter?"
The two walked a few meters, now back in the lobby.
"I want to protect people and ensure that no one ever has to live without parents just because they die in an accident."
"I think Ryo will put you on my team, since I don't have a partner yet."
"Chikako said that Ryo is letting you skip the first year, so congratulations, you must be quite talented."
"To be honest, until just now I didn't even know what a demon was."
"Oh man, Ryo, that idiot."
Yuusuke covered his face with his hand. "Okay, I'll explain the basics to you."
"Did Ryo explain demons and devils to you?"
"Yes."
"So the short version is that Devils and Demons are Nightmares, but normal Nightmares cannot possess a human."
The two walked from the lobby to the right, towards the elevator, while Yuusuke continued speaking.
"Since we're still in training, we don't get any assignments like that anyway. We deal with the mindless Nightmares. They're quite small, but can also be larger."
–He's really bombarding me with texts.
Yuusuke pressed the button on the elevator and the doors opened immediately. The two went inside and Yuusuke pressed the 3 button. Shortly afterward, the door closed.
"Nightmares arise in places with negative energy, and the quantity or size depends on the location. Schools are full of nightmares due to the pressure to perform."
"Are they killing the students?"
"Normal Nightmares are not strong enough for that, and even if they are, it's a long process. Nightmares attach themselves to people and absorb their energy."
"They are invisible to humans."
"For those who are not awakened, yes. The Nightmares feed on your aura, but I think the term endurance means more to you."
DING!
The two left the elevator and went into the hallway on the right.
"So they steal energy. How do you kill them?"
"Exactly, depending on what they attach themselves to, your arm might feel limp or your neck might stiffen. To kill them, a touch is usually enough, but with larger ones you might have to use a weapon."
The two stopped in front of a room and Yuusuke unlocked it with his access card.
"This is my apartment, come in."
Kouji went inside and sat down on a chair in the middle of the room.
"Do you have any further questions?"
"Ryo mentioned something called Kyoukai, what is that?"
"I understand, you obviously don't know this."
"Kyoukai is the application of aura. Every person has a certain aura capacity and one can use the aura to fight or defend oneself, however, it requires a lot of control for something like that."
"So we use Kyoukai to fight?"
"Yes, exactly, a modified form of Kyoukai."
"It is said that in the very early days, people fought each other using only Kyoukai, but because people became more technologically advanced and lazier, Kyoukai receded and the Blessings emerged."
"Blessings are abilities like mine," Ryo said.
"We use these blessings to compete against stronger opponents; each blessing is unique, which is what makes it so fascinating."
"What is your blessing?"
"You should always be careful who you reveal your abilities to, you should remember that. Maybe I'll tell you something later."
Yuusuke smiled.
–So I'm using my Blessing to take on the Devils.
"If you have any further questions at any time, I'll be happy to help."
"Thank you, I need to process this information first."
"All right, your room was on the 4th floor, right?"
"Yes, room 405."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning for your first mission, partner."
The two smiled at each other. Kouji could feel his bond with Yuusuke growing.
"Good night."