"Mr. Kakai, would you care for a game of table tennis?" Neret's voice was warm and inviting.
Kakai smiled, the focus that hardened his face dissolving instantly.
"Only if it's right now!"
"Oh, how childish these guys are!"
murmured Rarita Agarin, her lips curved in disgust as she watched her husband and friend.
Rarita pulled Neret in for a kiss, right in the middle of the game.
"Ugh, Mom, stop being gross!" Ugorin rolled her eyes with palpable disdain.
"What's wrong with that, honey? That's how we had you!"
Rarita replied, with a smile full of sweetness.
"Fine, but please don't show all that affection in public!"
Ugorin pulled away, her entire body expressing revulsion.
"Oh, sweetie, when you fall in love..." Neret began.
"When I fall in love, it won't be with a guy like you, Dad, but with a god!"
Ugorin's answer was quick, laden with defensive arrogance.
On the day of Ugorin's birth, Rarita's parents, in a cruel act, cursed their daughter with forbidden magic. This magic imprisoned Ugorin's heart, as she was born without the vital organ. Because of this, her parents must constantly replace her heart, living under the weight of this secret and daily maintenance. However, Ugorin inherited her clan's forbidden jutsu, the Infernal Coffin. The Infernal Coffin is an almost inescapable prison, where the only way to escape is to be stronger than the user who imprisoned you.
"Kakai, you cheat too much! One day I'm going to defeat you!"
Neret protested, but there was amusement in his tone.
"I want to see you try!" Kakai replied, and his laughter echoed down the hallway.
Sensei Yagato nervously dragged on his cigarette, the smoke obscuring his face.
"Stop smoking!"
Nobaru snapped, the irritation evident in her voice.
Yagato slowly exhaled the smoke, with an air of defiance.
"You know I like you, but if I have to choose, I choose the cigarette."
Nobaru crossed her arms, her forehead furrowed in suspicion.
"Don't you find it strange that your only son is coming to this school? I feel like this is going to be bad, I can't explain it, but I feel it."
With a strained laugh, Yagato replied, trying to ease the tension:
"Stop being paranoid, you need a date."
Suddenly, the lightness disappeared. His eyes darkened, becoming serious.
"In any case, we should be very attentive."
Yoshi, Kakai's son, was raised by his mother, a human, who never knew the truth about the child's father. The day of his birth was shrouded in a dense fog. Now, the boy was about to start at Tatoro Preparatory School.
"Fukuoka, hello, is anyone home?" Yagato's voice was strangely soft.
They entered the room. Fukuoka was deeply asleep. Yagato and Yoshi approached with caution.
"Wake up, sweetie, Mommy made your favorite breakfast coffee." Yagato used a sweet, syrupy, almost ridiculous tone.
"Ah, Mom, give me 30 more minutes..." Fukuoka mumbled, barely opening his eyes.
"But the coffee will get cold, sweetie."
Fukuoka jumped out of bed, the sleepiness replaced by a flash of irritation.
"I'm up, okay? You are not my mother, you know? That was in bad taste."
Yagato shrugged, masking his amusement.
"This is your roommate, Yoshi. I hope you get along, okay? I'm out of here."
The teacher left, the haste in his departure almost comical.
"It's just like him to run away from trouble. So, dummy, are you going to stand there looking or are you coming in?"
Fukuoka's rudeness was instantaneous, a barrier erected.
Yoshi blinked, embarrassed and overwhelmed by the large suitcases he was carrying.
"H-help me with these bags."
The whole school was already whispering about the arrival of Kakai's son.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
Yoshi asked, feeling the outside eyes weigh heavily on him.
Fukuoka let out a dry, bitter laugh.
"I don't know, maybe it's because of your father, who is the school's greatest enemy, and his son is in it."
Yoshi frowned, confusion mixed with pain.
"But I only saw my father once, I don't even remember what he really looked like."
"He is powerful, like everyone says. He is evil."
Fukuoka's word was a judgment.
"I don't know, I don't remember."
Yoshi looked at the floor, the weight of his father's reputation crushing him.
Fukuoka, seeing the vulnerability in the other boy, softened his tone, perhaps due to a flash of empathy.
"It's okay, my parents were strange too."