The streetlights shone brightly along the sides of the road. Kouji and Yuusuke were on their way back to the dormitory, talking about the incident.
"What will happen to the girl now?"
"The court"You can hardly hear them anymore; I've told Kagami so that at least the parents can hear it."
"Understand."
A brief silence, but the silence was quickly broken by one of Kouji's questions.
"Yuusuke, why are we hunting Nightmares if they don't fight back?"
"They don't fight back, but they're not harmless either."
"You saw him, this Nightmare looked like a lizard—some like a snake; they come in every shape, but what makes them dangerous is not their shape."
"What else?"
"Where should I start?"— Lass"Let's sit down there, I'll explain it to you."
Yuusuke explained some basics about the Nightmares to Kouji, which he hadn't learned because he'd skipped a grade. He started with the basics.
"Every person, whether Hunter or not, emits an aura; among non-Hunters this is called 'Stamina' and everything one does consumes aura, even breathing."
"The aura is filled with a lot of emotions; people can only perceive these in their extremes, and there are exceptions like Yumi, who can read the emotions from the aura."
"Nightmares feed on the emotions in the aura, and when several uncontrolled auras mix, they are created."
"And long story short, the nightmares attach themselves to parts of your body; the bigger the nightmare, the more area it covers. If aura pores are covered, they don't break down properly, and that causes discomfort."
"What kind of complaints?"
"For example, the lizard from earlier hangs onto a person's back;He wouldAfter some time, you will experience back pain and lethargy."
"You really paid attention in school."
"If you're not careful, you die quickly — shit, I completely lost track of time."
The dawnbrokethrough Kouji's curtains. After the last mission, he was exhausted; he hadn't slept much that night or in the nights to come. Fortunately for him, the following assignments weren't particularly demanding. Nevertheless, he'd been plagued by nightmares for the past few days, of the same kind as the one about the corridor.
–Did I forget to lower the roller shutter?
–These nightmares are costing me sleep;I've hardly been able to sleep a wink, even though I've been here for about two weeks now.
"I need to get ready, Ryo is already waiting."
Over the past few weeks, Ryo and Kouji have talked a lot about his situation. Yuusuke and Kouji decided to tell Ryo about this special person.
Kouji got dressed and walked to the training ground, past the main entrance. Yumi was sitting at the reception desk.
–That's right, it is morning.
She waved to him, he continued walking and subtly waved back. Arriving at the training ground, Ryo was already there. He was leaning against the wall, one foot raised. His coat fluttered in the light breeze.
"Even a sleepyhead sometimes."
"Hey."
"You look like you've been through hell?"
"You could say that."
"Perhaps it will sharpen your senses."
"Is that sarcasm or your philosophy for training?"
"Take your pick," he said, turning around at the same time, "Come with me."
Ryo started jogging around the training ground, while Kouji tried to keep up.
"This person you told me about; we don't really know much about these curiosities yet, but for now I'm calling them 'Humare'."
"Why Humare?"
"It's a mix of Human and Nightmare, which I think is pretty accurate — I havemeI used to do a lot of shopping with Nightmares, I know quite a bit about them; nevertheless, this person remains a mystery to me."
The two walked a little further across the training field when Ryo suddenly stopped.
"Well — to be honest, I've been thinking about it — about your blessing…"
"Yuusuke told you?"
"Nothing escapes my notice — please show me again how you use it."
Kouji stretched out his hand and ehasA small ball of material formed in his palm. The ball was metallic, and when he clapped his palms together, he was holding a rod.
"Impressive."
"Is that it?"
"Of course; it's just as I thought."
Kouji tilted his head in confusion.
"You can analyze and coat the things around you, you told me — but it looks more like you're reconstructing the things around you."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"What I mean to say is that these are not the characteristics of aPlus are."
"But — it can't be a negative, I've read that such things are only awakened by trauma; I've had my blessing for as long as I can remember—"
Before Kouji could finish his sentence, Ryo interrupted him, "It's not a minus either."
"Your ability derives its strength from stealing; this is a very atypical trait for Plus and is more typical of Minus."
"However — do you also analyze what a very typical Plus characteristic is?"
–No plus and no minus? But what do I have then?
"Let me tell you something, so listen carefully; people awaken a blessing, either a plus or a minus; both at the same time is practically impossible—"
"However… there wasIn the history of the Hunters, there has only been one person who broke the pattern. His Blessing was both positive and negative.Minus; TheThe chance that you are also such an anomaly is therefore not zero, but it is still very low."
–Why should I be such an anomaly?
"To be honest, Kouji — do you have a Devil Contract?"
"What??? No! Of course!"not; Until - before"Just recently I didn't even know what that was."
Ryo didn't answer directly, nor did he make a sound. He simply stared at Kouji. His gaze reflected interest and confusion.wider.
"You do not believe me?"
"Yes — Yes; I believe you — It all points to one thingCurse"Yes, but without your consent — such a contract cannot be concluded."
"And now?"
Ryo warf KoujibeKouji attacked the katana, which was still in its sheath.it andRyo then gave him a slight smile.
"Well, of course we'll get the best out of you."
Kouji couldn't help but grin slightly at these words. He had just thought they were going to arrest him or throw him out, and after a short pause until Fukushi arrived, Kouji took his place.
Ryo didn't have his sword with him—in fact, he had no weapon at all. Just his empty hands. But in his estimation, that was all he needed.
Ryo also struck a pose. Kouji didn't recognize the pose, but he was sure it was an old martial arts stance, or at least it looked like one to him. Ryo extended one hand, the other resting on his hip. Something resembling a snowflake formed on the ground.
"What is that?"
"A fighting technique from a series I once watched — it's called 'Demon Killer' — I told you, I've always been interested in demons."
Ryo added, "Ready?", which Kouji confirmed with a nod, but before he could finish nodding, he saw a fist in front of his eyes. Kouji narrowly dodged it, but was struck on the cheek.striped, whichstarted to bleed.
"Not bad."
–That was close… I didn't even see him coming, how can he be so fast?
Before Kouji could think of a strategy, Ryo attacked him again. Kouji narrowly dodged once more, and then an idea came to him. Kouji distanced himself slightly from Ryo and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and focused for a moment on nature, and then he saw it—the sandy ground shifting slightly.
–An attack is coming.
He dodged again, this time without taking damage, and struck with the katana, but Ryo saw it coming andcountered.The katana flew from Kouji's hand and landed a few meters to the side in the sand. Kouji ran to his katana and picked it up, then resumed his stance.
–It's just like analyzing objects; if I concentrate very carefully, I can feel where the sand is moving.
'The boy has adapted quickly — this will be very interesting with him.'
Ryo sprinted towards him again, but Kouji knew better now and saw him coming.
'Astonishing' Ryo thought, while Kouji was already preparing his counterattack.The Katanaswung directly at Ryo, but he was confident of victory, aimed at the tip of the blade, and swung his fist powerfully.I'm breaking it at this point.' — But shortly beforeRyo'sWhen the blade struck Ryo's fist, it shrank and expanded. The katana slid past Ryo's fist, but instead of hitting him, it swung.insNothing happened, as Kouji couldn't get back up quickly enough. Kouji's guard was now open, as he was still in the middle of his swing, which Ryo immediately exploited, kicking him. Kouji flew to the ground on his back.and the katanaout of his hand. Ryo slowly approached him and offered him his hand, which Kouji then grabbed, allowing Ryo to help him up.
"You are really strong, Ryo."
"You did well, considering you've never really had to fight before; tell me… have you been to a dojo or something like that?"
"No, I wasn't."
"I understand; all clear."
Before Ryo continued speaking, he dusted himself off.fromhe pulled down his trousers and stretched.
"Next time you'll have it completely mastered — I'm already looking forward to it!"