Kurou walks around the woods, searching for clues to where he is. The complete silence makes him feel uneasy, like he's the only living thing there. After a few minutes of walking, he hears a caw echoing in the distance.
He turns around, the sound grows louder and louder as he moves closer to it. "I hope I get a trial I know," Kurou dreads. After some time walking towards the sound, he finds a cave and at the same time the cawing stops.
Barefoot, he walks into the cave and finds three doors. Kurou feels a sense of welcoming, with torches on the wall and three doors in front of him, waiting to be opened.
He starts on the left, pushing open the heavy fault door and looks inside without taking a step past the door. There, he finds a cemetery with a skinny figure wearing a cloak far in the distance. "I'll check out the other options first," he tells himself.
He moves onto the door in the middle, a glass door. He looks through it to see a peaceful and familiar setting. A field of flowers and a pond with a pure white-colored wolf sleeping next to it. "I should've studied the trails better."
The last door is made of wooden planks, and it doesn't even look like a door. A path blocked by wooden planks nailed to the walls with a "Do Not Enter" sign in red.
The torches' flames went out one by one, starting from the entrance of the cave. Panicking, Kurou opens the glass door and goes in, closing it as the last torch goes out behind him.
*
*
*
The morning sun shines through and Payne is up earlier than usual. He prepares tea and waits for Kurou to wake up, pouring some tea and drinking it to the sound of the waterfall.
"To what do I owe this visit," he smiles after someone gently taps his shoulder.
"Good morning, I came back to apologize on behalf of Kayn. He isn't usually like that, I promise. But that's not the only thing I came back for," Caitlyn explains.
She sits down and places her purse next to her. "Unlike Kayn, I see great potential in Kurou, and I came back to personally train him. Not to mention, I need a fourth student so my students can start taking higher grade quests."
"That's a relief," he sighs. "You'll have to wait until he wakes up to start training him. In the meantime, care for some tea?" Payne raises an empty cup.
"Thank you," she takes the empty cup. They drink tea and watch the waterfall and the animals surrounding it.
*
*
*
Back at the academy, Janet is rereading her favorite book "Forever Together" when Evelyn bursts in the room. She is out of breath and panicking, repeating her teacher's name while searching for her.
"Ms.Caitlyn left earlier for the Payne residence. Why, what's wrong?" She lifts her reading glasses to her hair. Her almost expressionless face and the sweetness of her voice seem to slightly calm Evelyn down.
"It's Liam, he ran into Ghius and no one is there to stop them. Please! I've been looking for a teacher for fifteen minutes," she begs, her pupils watery as she suppresses tears.
"No need to panic. Come on, show me where he is." Evelyn nods and follows Janet, closing the door behind her.
By the time they get there, Liam is lying on the ground, with a thin line of blood coming out of his mouth. Janet clicks her teeth and lifts his shirt to see his torso, a pinkish-red color.
Her eyes focus, her breaths in a rhythm. She places her palm on his injury and a neon purple and blue aura appears around her hands. The injury to his ribs slowly fades and the blood from his mouth stops.
Liam wakes up to the worried Evelyn, tears flowing as she repeatedly apologizes. "I don't want to keep doing this. You need to fight back, both of you. Or else they won't stop picking on you," Janet complains.
*
*
*
In the Payne's residence, Kurou wakes up. He groans and stretches, going to the old man's favorite place. I don't feel different at all. He opens the door and finds his Dad and a lady wearing a long blue skirt, her hair even longer.
"I haven't properly introduced myself to you," she stands up. "My name is Caitlyn Kim, but you can call me Caitlyn. I'm here to apologize for my colleague's behavior yesterday and train you."
"Train me?" Kurou tilts his head curiously.
"Seeing your strength yesterday, I believe you could be a great bringer of justice for the Academy. You just need the right training to be qualified. A few good missions and you should be able to get a kayshin serum. So, what do you think?"
"Really? I would love to. Though the serum part is kind of unnecessary," looking at his father.
"Did you get a trial you were familiar with?"
"Nope. But I looked at the book before coming to you. Hana would be thrilled about my kayshin," his face brightens up.
"I see."
"What! Did you just say 'my' kayshin!?" They are both startled at her loud reaction. "How did you even get your hands on a serum bottle?"
"Is it really that shocking," Kurou asks.
"Of course. Nelpod, one of the six Keinma, controls the caves the serum is extracted from. They're extremely expensive and you'd have to be lucky to find someone to buy it from."
"Well if you must know, I've had this bottle for a long time. Back when I used to fight with the Academy," he explains.
"You used to be in the academy?" Kurou asks. "Since when? And how would you even get me a kayshin serum if it's that hard to get one?"
"That aside, can we learn your kayshin and get to training? There's no need to waste our time here. You're in a rush to get a fourth student, right?" he continues.
*
*
*
Janet enjoys the campus view as she walks towards the house labeled "Team 2". She knocks on the front door and it opens slightly. "Excuse me? Mr.Aleppo, are you here?" She waits for about thirty minutes before going in.
She walks around the house, admiring all the expensive paintings and technology team two have. One painting in particular catches her attention, zoning out at the beautiful painting of a chair.
"Itro brud? You have good taste in art. I personally bought this one. Why a chair?" a man asks.
"Who knows," she smiles slightly.
"What have my students done? You never come here without delivering bad news. Make it quick the school board summons me." he fixes his suit and tightens his tie.
"I Apologize for taking your time, but I wouldn't need to if they would just leave us alone," her tone changes, stern and unnatural. "Tell them to stay away from us. Evelyn is close to her breaking point. Who knows what she'll do to your students."
"I don't think I should worry about my students. We are ranked two for a reason," he chuckles.
"She's oblivious to her strength, but the Egolt knows it. I advise you to control your students, Richard," Janet walks away.
She ambles back home where she prepares dinner and waits for her teacher and team members. "Now, what page was I on?"
*
*
*
Caitlyn ties her hair into a ponytail and puts on a plain black cloak."What's that for, Ms.Caitlyn?" Kurou asks.
"It's my battle outfit. The cloak hides my movements, specifically my hands so the enemy cannot anticipate where I place my barriers. We don't have to wear uniforms, but our clothes need this symbol. It represents what we fight for, justice," she points to the badge on her chest with a scale symbol.
"I see. My kayshin isn't exactly flashy, so anything will do. I can enhance my senses, though I don't know what use that could be for fighting."
"May I make a suggestion?" Both Caitlyn and Kurou turn to Payne. "Back when I used to be in the Academy, sentry-type Kayshun were constantly used before the beginning of missions. Depending on how good it is, one can map out the entire enemy base and position without getting close. You can also use it to strengthen your reaction to attacks, and with a physique and stamina like that, your body should be able to follow through.
"Shall we give it a shot?" Kurou says in excitement.
Caitlyn smiles. "Let's try your kayshin first before we start. Go ahead and focus your energy into your ears. It's easier to imagine if you can flex those muscles. Take deep breaths and focus." As Kurou starts his training, Payne quietly goes back inside, leaving Kurou behind to focus.
The door slides shut and Kurou screams in pain. "Ahhhhhhhh!" Caitlyn rushes to his aid "I'm fine, I'm fine." he says, blood running down his neck.
"The energy! Stop the focus of energy!" kneeling down and wiping the blood off of him. He stands up after Caitlyn wipes his blood and he closes his eyes again."One more time. Try with less energy this time."
He takes deep breaths and everything goes quiet. He starts to imagine his blood stream, the energy flowing with the blood. From his heart, to his ears, the energy starts to flow. But this time he's cautious, trying to imagine less blood flowing towards his ears.
That's when he did it, he could hear Caitlyn breathing over the waterfall. The slow, deep breaths she takes, similar to what she told him to do. However, her control is much better. Her breathing has a rhythm to it, which inspires Kurou to work harder.
He could hear the slurping to his left, far behind the closed doors of his home. Dad's drinking tea again, Kurou thought to himself. "I did it," he says as he opens his eyes. In that moment, his concentration breaks, and his breathing returns to its normal pattern.
"Did you hear what I said?" Caitlyn calls out.
"No? You didn't say anything."
"I was whispering. Your kayshin type is one of few. Kayshun like you train to use their powers all the time, regardless of what they are doing. It prevents any surprise attacks, making them formidable opponents.
I'll have a few tests ready for you to make sure you can use your kayshin in any situation."
Ms.Caitlyn is really determined to help me. I can't let her down, and not just her either. For Hana and dad, I have to get into the academy. No matter what!
*
*
*
After three months, Kurou is finally able to use his kayshin at full power after slow but effective training. He slowly increased the energy flow and got used to the kayshin before proceeding. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't use his kayshin for multiple senses.
Now, he trains under different circumstances recommended by Janet, one of Caitlyn's students.
It's already been three months, huh? Everything I've done for the past eleven years since being in this country, I'll finally be able to put it to use. In order to repay him for everything he has done for me. But, I don't want to leave, he turns around and stares at his home. I don't wan-
"Kurou? Are you okay?"
"What? Oh. Yeah I'm fine. Um, where were we?"
"We were training your energy transference speed?"
"Huh?"
'How fast can you switch your tayshin to other senses? Nevermind, we'll continue training tomorrow," she walks away.
"Wait, that's it? We barely even trained today," he follows her.
"I can't have you spacing out in the middle of training," she opens the front door into Payne's house. "I'll report your progress and go home. I need to spend more time with my other students anyways," she shrugs her shoulders.
Caitlyn closes the door behind her, and Kurou closes his eyes and focuses. Its not working? He questions his hearing ability. He then hears a blade sliding back into its sheath and being placed back on his shelf.
"It's been two weeks since he started this training, but his improvement has been surprisingly slow. He's distracted."
"Kurou, distracted in training?" he chuckles. "Sorry, I didn't think 'Kurou' and 'distracted in training' could be in the same sentence."
"I would appreciate it if you check on him. Please."
"By the way, how are your students? Is Liam staying out of trouble?" he asks.
"They're doing fine. He tries to stay out of trouble, but can't help it when his friends get insulted. I couldn't be more proud," Kurou can imagine her smiling. She's always happy talking about her students, he thought."Speaking of them, I'll head home for today. I haven't had a chance to spend quality time with them since Kurou's training."
She heads home before sunset and Kurou goes home an hour later. He takes a shower and goes to the dining room where his father is waiting."Training is good so far. Ms.Caitlyn says I'll be ready soon," he grabs a tomato from a basket.
"Is that so? I actually wanted to talk to you about that. She's worried about you. Says you're distracted during training, which I thought was impossible."
"Really? Yeah, no, I'm fine," he avoids eye contact.
"I remember when Hana disappeared. That was the only time you stopped training. That and when you'd hurt yourself. We looked for her everywhere. Do you remember that?" Payne smiles as he pours tea for himself, then raises the teapot towards Kurou.
"I'm good. I remember it like it was yesterday," he chuckles awkwardly. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."
"It's alright. You know you can talk to me. I'll always be here for you, even if you're miles away. You could run that in a few hours anyways," he laughs.
Kurou grabs another tomato, munching it out of frustration. "I'm gonna miss this place," he starts.
*
*
*
The same night at the academy, Janet is reading yet another book when Liam interrupts.
"Hey, whatcha reading?" he leans over the other side of the couch. "Kayshin History, by Mark L, again? You've got to have read that at least ten times by now," he exclaims.
"It's not a book, it's a catalog. I'm looking into Kurou's kayshin. Ms.Caitlyn seems determined on this Kurou person, so I thought I should help," she looks back at the book, reading the previous users to see what they had done. "The only problem is that there isn't much to do with this kind of kayshin."
Evelyn walks into the living room, laying on the couch next to them. As her body hits the couch, the doorbell rings.
"I'll get that," Liam looks at Evelyn. He opens the door to be surprised by their teacher, the sun shining behind her.
"Ms.Caitlyn? You're home early. That's the fourth time this week. Is he going to be alright?" Evelyn gets up immediately, followed by Janet closing her book.
"He'll be fine. He's just having a hard time focusing."
"Movie night? It's been ages," Liam exclaims.
"Oooh, that sounds fun. I'll go change real quick," Caitlyn responds.
Janet puts a big bag of popcorn next to Evelyn as she looks for a movie. "Ms.Caitlyn, hurry up before Liam eats all the popcorn," Evelyn shouts as they all giggle.
"I'm coming right now!"
"Hey, I'm not gonna eat it all! I'll save her some. Like, a handful."
*
*
*
A month passes, and Kurou is about to go to the academy. Alright, with that, I've packed everything, he swings his bag over his right shoulder and walks outside, where Payne, Caitlyn and Rick wait for him.
"I'll make you proud. Make this country better. I promise," he tells Payne.
"Yes, I know you will. I'll be here waiting for your return." They both smile, and then Kurou nods his head and walks away. He greets Caitlyn and they turn their backs to go into the portal. "I'll see you later," he turns around, waving at his dad."Okay! Make sure you bring Hana with you!" the old man shouts.
"Yeah, I will!"
A few seconds pass and Kurou finds himself in the academy. A strange place that will soon become his new home. He follows Caitlyn as he looks at his surroundings, lost in thought. They walk down the hall in silence, the echoing of footsteps filling the halls
I wonder how my teammates look. A thought came to his mind.
"We're here. Do you have everything?"Caitlyn breaks the silence, coming to a stop to allow Kurou to catch up.
"Yeah, I double checked to make sure I didn't miss anything."
Caitlyn knocks on the door and then it's opened by a guard. They walk in and the guard closes the door.
"Good morning, Mr.Forji. Thank you for agreeing to this. This is Kurou Payne, a candidate who failed his first attempt into the Academy four months ago by Kayn."
"Nice to meet you," Kurou shakes Forji's hand.
"Likewise. Please, sit," he motions towards the empty chairs with an open palm. "Now we usually give examinees another test to prove that they are ready because this line of work is extremely dangerous. However, Ms.Caitlyn here has recommended you to us, which basically means you're ready."
Kurou turns to Caitlyn with a big smile. "Hold on now," Forji continues, regaining their attention. "I wanted to make sure that both of you know the risks involved. You, as a teacher, will take responsibility if anything were to happen to him."
"I swear that whatever happens to Kurou Payne, I will take full responsibility for, including his actions on behalf of the Academy," Caitlyn comments, raising her right hand up, palm open. Forji nods in approval.
"I understand that I am taking on an extremely dangerous mission, and that serious injury or death are possible while fulfilling my duty," Kurou adds, copying Caitlyn. Both Forji and Caitlyn's eyes open wide in shock, immediately followed by laughter.
"Welcome. To the Justice Academy. We expect great things from you," Forji puts his hand out, awaiting a handshake.
"It's my pleasure. I look forward to working with you all."