The sun hung high overhead, casting long shadows across the cracked, dusty ground. The air shimmered with heat, and the lingering tension from the battle buzzed like static electricity.
Sora stood tall, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as he cracked his neck, the pop of joints audible in the stillness. He rolled his shoulders, exhaling slowly.
"Might be as good a time as ever to try it out," he muttered, voice low but laced with excitement. His stance shifted, balanced, focused, but still loose.
Soya furrowed his brow, his breathing still ragged from the last exchange. "Sensei… what are you doing now?"
Sora didn't answer right away. His eyes narrowed, and he let his breathing slow, centering himself.
"Y'know there's one energy type I forgot to tell you about," he finally said, voice steady as a drumbeat.
"It's called Positive Soul Energy, and I'm gonna try and show it to you, kid."
The Yurei, a twisted specter of seething malice, began its approach. Its form shimmered in the sunlight, a swirling mass of dark vapor that shifted and pulsed with each step, gaining speed.
Sora planted his feet, grinning as he took in a sharp breath, chest rising.
"Ten no kizuna, waga te ni atsumare!"
The words echoed in the air, and in an instant, a soft pink glow flickered to life around Sora's hands. It pulsed light, warm, and electric dancing across his skin like flames that didn't burn. His grin grew wider, his heartbeat syncing with the energy building in his palms.
"So this is what Positive energy feels like… amazing!" he murmured, almost in awe.
Positive Energy like Negative energy is created when mixing positive emotions into neutral soul energy. However, unlike negative emotions, positive emotions flee quickly.
Soya stood a few paces back, stunned into silence, watching his sensei with wide eyes.
The Yurei lunged, its form tearing through the air like a living shadow, claws raised to strike. Sora didn't flinch. The pink energy in his hands gathered, forming a bright orb that seemed ready to burst.
He released it with a shout–
But the orb fizzled into nothing, evaporating into a harmless puff of pink smoke.
Sora's eyes widened. "What?!"
The Yurei's claws swept down toward him, and Sora twisted away, barely dodging. He spun, pivoting on his heel, and his hand shot out, slamming into the back of the Yurei's head.
"Guess I'll just do it my way!" he growled, shoving his energy into the creature.
The Yurei let out a garbled, strangled screech. Dark veins burst across its head, swelling, distorting until with a sharp, wet pop, it exploded into a cloud of black mist that scattered into the air.
Sora stood tall, exhaling a sharp breath. His grin returned, almost feral. He flexed his fingers, the faint remnants of pink still crackling and fading into nothing.
"Guess I still can't use Positive Soul Energy," he muttered, shaking his head not disappointed, but rather like a man who had just discovered the challenge was bigger than he thought.
Soya stared, his jaw slack.
Sora glanced at him with a smirk. "Close your mouth before you catch flies."
Soya snapped his jaw shut, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Sora stretched, cracking his knuckles. The sunlight gleamed off his skin, sweat trailing down his temple. With a satisfied nod, he turned, looking toward the horizon.
"Let's head back to Kazane and the others."
When Sora and Soya finally reached the others, the group was lounging outside the old training grounds, shaded by the overgrown trees and cracked stone walls. The afternoon sun filtered through the branches, casting speckled light across their faces.
Ichika was leaning back on her hands, legs stretched out, chewing on a straw and looking bored. Mika was quietly sketching seal patterns in the dirt, while Ren leaned against a tree, arms crossed and eyes half-closed, like he was listening but not fully there.
Kazane was the first to notice them. She popped a piece of gum into her mouth, her gaze narrowing lazily.
"Took you guys long enough," she muttered, blowing a small bubble.
Sora didn't even break stride, clapping his hands together. "Alright, listen up!" His voice carried easily, making them all sit up straighter.
"I've got some low-level missions for you, nothing too crazy. I'll send the locations to Kazane's phone." He tapped a few times, and Kazane's phone buzzed.
"It's different locations, so you'll have to pair up."
He shoved his phone back into his pocket without ceremony and turned to leave.
"Oh, one more thing!" Sora called over his shoulder, voice sharper now, cutting through the casual atmosphere like a blade.
Everyone paused, attention locking onto him.
"Be back at the school before twilight."
Soya blinked, the tension tightening in his chest. "Why twilight?" he asked, voice quieter than he intended.
Before Sora could answer, Kazane spoke first, twirling her phone idly in her hand.
"Because that's when curses and soul energy are at their most powerful, and Yurei are… well, y'know." She yawned, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Soya nodded slowly, a chill running down his spine as his stomach flipped.
Sora's gaze lingered on him, sharp but not unkind. "Don't worry, kid. As long as you're back before that time… you won't die."
The words hit like a gut punch, but Sora was already walking away, hands in his pockets, his figure shrinking into the distance.
The group was left standing there, an awkward silence settling in for a moment before Ren pushed off the tree with a stretch.
"Guess I'll go solo," he said, his tone casual but eyes dark, as if daring someone to argue.
Ichika snorted, hopping to her feet and cracking her knuckles. "Show-off."
"Just smart." Ren shrugged, already scanning the mission details on Kazane's phone.
Soya and Kazane were left together by default.
Kazane frowned, blowing a lazy bubble as she glanced at Soya. "Try not to slow me down, alright?"
Soya scratched the back of his neck, feeling the weight of her gaze. "I'll keep up," he muttered, a bit sheepish.
Mika glanced between them, her expression soft and worried. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something probably to offer some kind of encouragement but Ichika cut in first.
"Oi, Mika. We're a team, yeah?" Ichika grinned, a little too wide, and nudged Mika's shoulder. "You keep us alive, I'll smash anything that gets too close."
Mika smiled faintly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll do my best."
"Don't worry, I'll bleed for all of you if I have to." Ren's voice was dry as ever, but something in the way he said it made Ichika's grin falter for a second.
Soya glanced at Kazane again, and for a moment, her scowl softened, barely.
"Let's just get this over with," she muttered, tucking her phone into her pocket as she turned on her heel.
Soya swallowed, nodded once, and jogged after her.
As the group scattered to their respective missions, the sky above seemed to stretch a little darker, the weight of Sora's warning hanging over them all.
Kazane and Soya walked in tense silence, the city slowly giving way to the quieter outskirts as they neared the park. Shinjuku was still bustling behind them, but here on the edge of forgotten streets and overgrown spaces the sounds of distant cars and chatter faded into the background. The rustle of leaves in the wind and the clack of Kazane's boots on the pavement filled the void. She carried her naginata lazily over her shoulder, the long, dark shaft balanced perfectly as if it weighed nothing at all.
Soya, trailing just a step behind, kept stealing quick glances at her, watching the way her hair shifted with each movement, the casual swing of the blade. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. Nothing came out.
Without looking at him, Kazane spoke, her tone dry and edged with amusement.
"Are you gonna speak up, or just keep staring? Because if it's the latter, I don't mind smacking your head straight."
Soya's eyes snapped forward, face flushing.
"I uhh–I wasn't! I was just… umm…" He fumbled, his voice cracking slightly. "I was just wondering…"
Kazane kept her gaze ahead, though a faint frown tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Wondering what?"
Soya looked up at the sky for a second, took a deep breath, and forced the words out.
"Where'd you get that?" He motioned awkwardly toward the naginata. "Because when we left the school… and when we got to that other place… you didn't have it."
Kazane blinked, her steps faltering for half a second.
"Seriously? That's your question?" She scoffed, shaking her head slightly. "It's my Soul Technique."
Soya tilted his head, brow furrowing.
"Your what?"
Kazane finally glanced at him, an almost surprised look on her face.
"Geez… for a Senju, you know next to nothing."
Soya blinked. "What does my last name have to do with anything?"
Kazane sighed, the frown deepening.
"Because it's one of the Five Great Clans of the exorcist world? How do you not know that? Even your average run-of-the-mill exorcist knows the basics."
Soya shrugged, a little defensively.
"I'm not from a clan. I had a family… but it wasn't a clan."
Kazane's frown shifted less annoyed, more thoughtful.
"Whose last name is it then? Your dad's?"
Soya stared at the ground, his voice dropping lower.
"No… my dad died before they could get married."
For a second, Kazane's expression softened, her eyes shifting sideways toward him.
"So… it's your mom's name?"
"Yeah. Well… her maiden name. She married someone else… before she had my siblings."
Kazane exhaled through her nose, her gaze returning forward.
"Tough." A beat. Then, with a little more weight, she added, "Maybe you should ask her about her past."
Soya's steps faltered, his shoulders tensing. His voice barely above a whisper.
"Too late for that. She's dead. The rest of my family too."
Kazane's steps slowed slightly, her head turning just enough to catch him in the corner of her eye. Soya's head was down, left hand gripping his right shoulder tightly, as if the weight of his past was physically pressing on him.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice quieter than before.
Soya didn't answer at first. The wind picked up, rattling the trees ahead, the old swings in the park creaking faintly in the distance.
"They died… because of me," Soya finally said, voice strained. "Because I'm a freak… with powers I can't control."
Kazane's grip on her naginata tightened. She turned her head fully now, eyes narrowing slightly. She didn't say anything for a long moment, just walked in silence by his side. Finally, she spoke, her tone clipped but not unkind.
"Don't say that."
Soya blinked, glancing at her.
"Huh?"
"Don't say that crap like it's fact." Kazane kept her gaze forward, her voice steady. "You're not a freak. You're just… a dumbass who doesn't know what to do with himself yet."
Soya's lips twitched, almost a smile, but he quickly bit it back.
They reached the park a few minutes later. It was an old, abandoned place on the outskirts of Shinjuku. The playground was rusted, the swings crooked. Grass grew through cracks in the pavement, and a faint, almost unnatural fog seemed to linger at the edges of the forest nearby.
Kazane stopped at the entrance, lowering her naginata from her shoulder. She rolled her neck, cracking it slightly.
"Alright. Focus up. We're here."
Soya stared at the naginata again, unable to help himself.
"So that's… your technique?"
Kazane smirked, spinning the weapon lazily in her hand.
"Yeah. It's called Seikon no Giri, 'Bound by Spirit.' It's not just a weapon. It's… part of me."
Before Soya could ask more, a low, guttural groan echoed from the far side of the park, followed by a flickering shadow distorted and twitching like static.
Kazane's smirk sharpened.
"Let's see if you're as hopeless as you look, Senju."
Soya's stomach did a nervous flip, but he clenched his fists and stepped forward.
"I'm ready."