"Where am I?" Kurou wakes up to an unknown ceiling. He attempts to get up but the severe pain prevents him, his body wrapped in bandages.
"Oh, you're finally awake? You've been asleep for three days. I wasn't sure you were gonna make it." It's the old man who had driven them out of the woods.
"What happened?" Kurou asks. His grabs his head in pain, screams echoing as he tries to recall the events that happened before he passed out.
"Where is everyone? Lorc? Where is my brother?" Kurou breaks down, screaming and crying, but the old man just looks down and sighs, sipping his tea in silence.
He stands up and opens a door leading outside, which reveals a beautiful waterfall just outside his home.
He sits back down and listens to the waterfall, drinking from his cup once more. Kurou finds the waterfall somehow calming, and he stops screaming as the tears involuntarily keep flowing.
"I don't know what to say in these types of situations." the old man finally says, getting the young grieving boy's attention, and his tears stop for just a second as he sniffles. "I'm sorry about what happened. I-I tried to warn you… But I was too late. I've buried your brother and his group near the shore if you want to visit them."
"What am I gonna do now? I have nowhere to go. I'm not even supposed to be here," Kurou cries once again.
"You can stay here." The young boy calms down in shock. "There's plenty of food and water, and a place for you to rest as well. You'll be alright, kid," Kurou's thoughts about his brother disappear momentarily at the old man's reassurance.
"It won't be free though. You'll have to do chores around the house. Is that okay with you?" his eyebrows point down with a slight smirk.
"Really?" The old man nods as Kurou wipes his tears.
"I'm terribly sorry for all the pain my people have caused you. Our country wasn't always this violent. This blood thirsty. Those tyrannical Keinma will surely pay, I know it!" he says with conviction.
"Kienma," Kurou whispers. His jaw tenses and his teeth clench. He's never felt this angry before, much different from when his parents died.
Time passes by and the old man takes Kurou in, buying him clothes. A black yukata and a white one, and two pairs of sandals, which he leaves in Kurou's new room.
As the young boy's body heals, he starts to do more and more chores. At first the old man tells him to clean the house. Then that changes after some time when he gets curious about fishing. Years pass by and the young boy is anywhere but home. He collects fish early in the morning and spends the rest of his day training.
"Kurou, you must stop hurting yourself," the old man cries out one night. "You're overworking yourself. This is the fifth time you've trained until you're injured. This is beyond insanity."
"I'm already fifteen. You don't have to worry about me. Besides, there's no way I'll beat any of the Keinma with average training," he says with a determined face.
The old man sighs and says "True, but you can't just brute force your way through. Listen, you need to enroll in the Justice Academy. It's a base in the center of the country that fights evil to protect the weak. You'll have a better chance at killing the Keinma that way."
"Hmm. Alright, so how do I get in?" He replies with excitement.
"You have to take an entrance exam. That's your goal for now."
"Yes, sir," Kurou clenches his fists, smiling nervously. The old man nods his head and they both continue to eat fish Kurou had caught from the waterfall earlier that afternoon.
*
*
*
Eleven years have passed since the old man took Kurou in. Kurou has trained day in and day out since.
He wakes up early and makes a huge meal for his twenty-first birthday using fish from the river and fruits and vegetables from the village nearby, snacking on a tomato before the feast.
After a week of trying, the old man finally gets in contact with the Academy and they send two teachers to examine Kurou. The sound of knocking flows into his ears, three beats. The old man gets up to open the door, nervous about the exam.
"Good morning, my name is Tucker Kayn and this is my colleague Caitlyn Kim. You must be Mr. Payne." His deep voice gives Payne the impression that the man is incredibly strong.
"We're here on behalf of the Academy of Justice to examine your son to determine if he qualifies to join the Academy of Justice. Could you bring him out?" a soft-spoken voice speaks.
"If Kurou passes, he will join my team. Mr.Kayn is here to examine him as he has been a staff member for more than five years," she continues.
"I'm afraid that's not possible. He's currently training and won't be returning until late in the evening. I told the young man on the phone to schedule the exam for that time.
"Hmm. Well, we're already here so just take us to him. We have the whole day for this exam so the sooner we do this the earlier I can go home. And tell Liam to stop sleeping at our base."
"Alright, I'll take you to my boy. But I must say, he trains very far from home. He loves the snow," Payne says, waving a "come inside" gesture.
"I don't mean to be rude but how exactly could a blind man guide us?" Caitlyn asks.
"He's trained there for most of his life. He made a path about three years ago. Just follow me," Payne responds.
He puts a blue coat over his white yukata. Both Caitlyn and Kayn accept coats after Payne's persistence.
As they start walking, the old man taps his cane on the ground until they reach a tree with a bell. He rings the bell twice before continuing.
Payne picks up a few things about Caitlyn as they walk. She's considerate and kind based on how she speaks. She's also about the same height as him and needs one more student to complete her team.
Kayn on the other hand is a quiet, non-interested type. His answers are instant and consist of less than five words
After about thirty-five minutes of walking, Kayn finally loses patience. He asks Payne how long until they get to Kurou. "About three hours. You said you didn't have anything else to do, right?" he smiles.
"Three Hours?! That's insane. I don't have time for this. Rick!" Payne hears a button click before a loud sound and a sudden gust of wind hits them. "Take us to the place Mr.Payne is thinking about." Caitlyn sighs.
"Sure thing," a rather familiar voice replies and they get sucked into it. Payne realizes what happened when he feels snow falling on him. They've entered the frozen region, where it snows nonstop everyday.
"Rick is one of our colleagues. He can open a portal to anywhere as long as he or the person in his portal has been to that place. I apologize if it startled you," Caitlyn explains.
"Let's go," Kayn says, walking towards the loud sound vibrating on the ground by something huge moving close by. It must have been as big as a bear or two.
The sound stops after Caitlyn calls out "Hello? Anyone here?"
"Yeah. I'm assuming you guys are my-" Kurou approaches but is interrupted.
"Kurou! You better not be shirtless again. I don't want you getting sick, especially not now, " his father shouts.
"I know but it's easier to train this way. And honestly, it's not even that cold."
"What am I gonna do with you?" he clicks his teeth. "This is Caitlyn Kim and this is Tucker Kayn. They'll be your proctors for your entrance exam."
"Nice to meet you," they greet in unison.
"Nice to meet you too," Kurou responds.
"I have to say, your training is pretty impressive. I wonder what kind of Kayshun you are?" Kayn praises him in amazement.
"Kayshun? No, I don't have any powers. But I'm flattered."
"You're not a Kayshun? That's ridiculous. I came all the way here for you to waste my time with this, Caitlyn?" Kayn complains.
"Come on Kayn, just give the kid a chance. You're already here," Caitlyn begs.
"Fine, two minutes. Land a hit on either one of us to pass the physical test. But if you can't, you fail. What do you say?" he fleers.
Caitlyn's smile quickly fades. "That's ridiculous, you can't expect him to pass."
"You're on," Kurou immediately agrees. Caitlyn sighs in disappointment as Kayn fixes his suit. "You better not hold back," he tells Caitlyn.
*
*
*
"I'll let you guys be and listen from a distance. Kurou, good luck," the old man cheers him on before his exam. Kayn throws his pocket watch at Payne and tells him to start the time, and then the fight starts at his call. "Begin."
Kurou rushes onto Kayn, attempting a right hook but is met with a hard shield in front of him. It isn't made of metal or anything physical, leaving Kurou confused as he steps back to recollect his thoughts.
I need to figure out their Kayshin first. He goes for two more attacks but they are also blocked with a shield when he notices Caitlyn's palms open towards Kayn. He sprints towards Kayn, then abruptly switches to Caitlyn.
As he gets close to her, he feels something hard and prickly slithering on his ankles. He's picked up from the ground, then notices tree roots around his ankle that throw him back twenty feet. Using the momentum, he stomps on the ground and backflips, sliding a little further before the snow slows him down completely.
That must be his Kayshin. This is going to be tough. Her shields prevent me from landing a blow on either of them, and his wood control type doesn't even let me get a surprise attack. Tsk, they're obviously holding back as well. But I can't give up, not now.
"Hey! We are supposed to fight defensively, you know that by now, Kayn. It's already bad enough you made it practically impossible for him to pass," Caitlyn complains.
"We are testing him on his fighting capabilities. That includes his durability. Not to mention, he agreed to this type of exam."
While they are talking, Kurou cooks up another plan. As they turn towards him, they realize he isn't there anymore. "Enough talking, we can't be distracted during a test," Kayn says firmly.
They quickly react and turn around to the sound of running to see a pile of snow heading towards them. Caitlyn closes her eyes and shields her face using her left arm and the young Kurou appears in front of the defenseless Kayn.
He ducks down and throws an uppercut, but he sees Kayn smiling. Kayn lifts him once again by the ankles.
"Do you give up?" Kayn asks with an expressionless face.
"Never," Kurou replies, dangling upside down. He takes a deep breath then curls upward, kicking as hard as he can to break the roots. Blood drips onto the snow from his ankles as he stands on the roots and looks at his ankles.
You like that. Bet you didn't think someone without a Kayshin could do that. I got more coming. Kurou uses the roots as footing to push himself, heading towards Caitlyn. She opens her palms and a huge shield appears in front of Kurou.
He pulls back his punch and grabs the shield from the top, using his momentum to flip over the shield and kick Caitlyn with his uninjured ankle. Another shield appears that blocks his kick, and Kayn grabs his injured ankle yet again ,throwing him for the second time.
"That's time," Payne calls out regretfully.
"Some things aren't meant to be," Kayn tells Kurou mockingly.
Kurou was broken. He trained all these years to get stronger yet he can't even land a hit. How am I supposed to help others when I'm this weak? How will I even fight the Keinma? He thinks to himself as he stares at the snow beneath him.
"I'm leaving. Rick!"
"I'm Sorry," Caitlyn says, following Kayn into the portal.
*
*
*
"Okay, what was that, huh? You were someone else back there. That wasn't the Kayn that I know. You've been acting differently ever since Clare d-."
"No, you don't get it at all," he cuts her off, moving his face closer to Caitlyn's. "Strength isn't the only thing that matters, okay? Clare is an example of that," his voice softens. "You're a hundred years too early to lecture me about recognizing strength. Because unlike you, I've learned from my mistakes, and my students are proof of that," he storms off.
They go separate ways and Caitlyn makes it back just before sunset. The building she lives in is a three story building with six bedrooms and four bathrooms, typical structure in the Justice Academy.
Caitlyn knocks on the front door to be met with one of her students, Janet. "Welcome back, Ms.Caitlyn. How was the exam?" her student smiles.
"Well aren't you happy? The examinee was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, however, Kayn failed him because he wasn't a Kayshun," Caitlyn sighs, putting her purse down on the table and dropping onto the couch.
"Is that the dress I bought you?" she looks up at Janet.
"Yes, I like it a lot. Is that enough to fail someone?" Janet asks.
"I don't know anymore. By the way, Where's Liam and Evelyn?" She sits up.
Janet goes into the kitchen and pours a glass of orange juice for her teacher. "Liam is still at Mr.Kayn's place. He's with Elijah trying to increase his fire output. Says he can get even hotter. And Evelyn went to bed an hour ago." Janet answers, placing the cup on the table.
"What am I going to do without you, Janet?" Caitlyn smiles, drinking the cup of cold, refreshing orange juice.
"It's the least I could do to repay you, Ms.Caitlyn. May I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"When will we be able to do missions outside of our perimeter? This may sound odd coming from me, but I can't help but worry that we are running out of time."
"That is odd," Caitlyn chuckles. "Soon, once you have four members on the team. And I have a feeling that Kurou will be the perfect addition to the team."
"The one you examined today? Didn't he fail?"
"I'll figure something out. There's something about him, I don't know what it is."
"Well your hunches have brought you some pretty strong students. I think it's worth a shot."
Seventy miles to the north is Kurou, the night of his exam.
Payne walks to him from the house with a basket of tomatoes, placing it next to him."Here, I brought your favorites." Kurou still doesn't do anything, stuck in his own thoughts.
"Do not fret my boy. You mustn't lose yourself in the face of failure. Rather, use it as a tool to improve yourself."
"What if I can't? What if Kayn is right, and this is as strong as I can be. I don't understand why you believe in me, I couldn't even find Hana."
"It'll all be okay. Hana's disappearance was out of our control. And finding her should keep you going, not weigh you down. Follow me, I actually have something for you that I bought a while back."
They walk into the house and to Payne's room, where he tells Kurou to sit on the bed. Do you remember what Kayshin powers are?" Payne grabs a small rectangular box from his drawer.
"Crazy powers from juice with some side effects?" Kurou responds, unsure of his answer.
"Close enough. It might taste funny, but make sure to drink it all and lay down on the bed," he says, taking out a vial from the box.
His face says it all as he stares at this blood-colored liquid and gulps his own spit in hesitation. Payne could tell that Kurou is scared, but what he can't see is Kurou's smile.
Kurou takes the vial and fixes the pillow to his liking. "I didn't know you could just buy it," he chuckles, taking a deep breath before chugging the entire vial.
"I did it. But I don't feel anything. How long before the serum kicks in?" he asks. Before Payne can open his mouth, Kurou's body smacks the bed, and he tucks him in.
Right before his eyes give out, Kurou sees his father telling him something before walking away. "Choose wisely," he smiles.