The cafeteria still roared with arguments, laughter, and replay screens flashing Kijin's victory over and over.
AA students complaining.
BK students celebrating.
CM students analyzing like commentators.
And in the middle of it—
Kijin sat calmly, eating noodles.
Slurp.
Like none of it concerned him.
Across from him, Tsuramo ate quietly, but this time his eyes tracked the room—every whisper, every stare, every rising ego.
Renji and Hikaru slid into their seats again, still excited.
Renji pointed around. "Bro, they're literally fighting over you."
Kijin slurped noodles lazily.
"They got free time."
Hikaru laughed. "You beat Raigen! That's not normal."
Kijin shrugged.
"He talks too much. Lightning guy should fight more, talk less."
A nearby table erupted.
"Raigen slipped!"
"No, Kijin outplayed him!"
"Rematch him!"
Kijin raised his hand lazily without turning.
"Tell thunder bro I'm busy eating."
Renji wheezed laughing.
Kijin stretched slightly, wincing from bandages under his uniform.
"Oh yeah," he added casually, "my dad called."
Hikaru leaned forward. "What'd he say?"
Kijin rolled his eyes.
"'Son, you restored Yamata pride.' Clan cheering in the background. Old men crying. Whole drama."
Renji grinned. "That's awesome though."
Kijin leaned back dramatically.
"Then he says, 'Come home soon.'"
Pause.
Kijin smirked.
"So I told him when I get stronger, I'm coming home to break his bones for torturing me as a kid."
Renji nearly fell off his chair laughing.
"You're insane!"
Kijin shrugged. "Man made me wrestle spirit beasts at seven. Childhood trauma deserves revenge."
Tsuramo finally spoke, calm voice cutting through the noise.
"You'd still lose."
Everyone paused.
Kijin slowly turned. "…Bro, support your teammate."
Tsuramo continued eating.
"Your father trained you. You only survived because of him."
Kijin clicked his tongue. "…Yeah, yeah."
Small pause.
Then he sighed dramatically.
"But still, when I beat him one day, I'm posing over his body."
Hikaru laughed. "You're terrible."
Kijin grinned.
"Dramatic victory speech too."
He raised imaginary microphone:
"OLD MAN, YOUR ERA IS OVER!"
Renji clutched his stomach laughing.
Another replay flashed behind them.
Students gasped again.
Kijin scratched his head. "…Honestly, I almost died though."
Tsuramo looked at him.
"You hesitated."
Kijin blinked. "…I what?"
"You thought about losing. Half a second. That's why he hit you."
Silence.
Kijin stared, then looked away, embarrassed. "…You didn't have to say it out loud."
Tsuramo calmly drank water.
"Fix it."
Kijin sighed, slurping noodles again.
"…Yeah."
Then he smirked.
"But next time I fight lightning bro, I'm charging ticket fees."
Renji burst out laughing again.
Hikaru shook his head.
"You're unbelievable."
And while the entire cafeteria argued about his victory—
Kijin kept eating like it was nothing.
But across the table—
Tsuramo watched quietly.
Because he could already see it.
Kijin was getting stronger.
And soon—
he wouldn't just surprise people.
He'd scare them.
-------
he television flickered in the dim apartment, casting pale blue light across the room.
Rain tapped softly against the window.
On the screen, a tense news anchor spoke, voice tight with urgency.
"—confirmed casualties now exceed one thousand after last night's demon incursion in Central District. Emergency forces continue search-and-rescue operations while authorities urge citizens to remain indoors."
Footage rolled.
Collapsed buildings. Burning streets. Rescue teams moving through smoke and rubble.
Civilians wrapped in blankets, shaken and silent.
The anchor continued,
"Officials still cannot explain where these creatures originated. Witnesses describe massive shadow-like beasts appearing without warning across multiple districts—"
The channel switched briefly to shaky cellphone footage: towering shapes moving through smoke, sirens screaming, people running.
Then back to the studio.
"Schools and training academies nationwide are now on high alert. Combat divisions are being mobilized—"
Click.
The volume lowered.
On the couch, a girl watched quietly, legs crossed, chin resting on her palm.
Short blonde hair framed her face, slightly messy from sleep.
A loose t-shirt tucked into fitted jeans gave her a casual, effortless look.
Blue eyes reflected the chaos on screen.
Slowly, she licked her tongue across her lips.
Not nervous.
Interested.
"…Over a thousand, huh."
She stood up lazily, stretching her arms overhead as the news continued behind her.
"Citizens are advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary—"
She walked to the window, peeking out at the quiet city below.
Everyone was scared.
Everyone was hiding.
Her lips curved faintly.
She picked up her phone and dialed.
It rang twice.
Someone answered.
"Yo," she said casually. "You watching the news?"
Pause.
"Yeah. Demon invasion. Whole city wrecked."
She leaned against the wall, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"…It's getting popular now."
Another pause as the person on the other side spoke rapidly.
She chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah. Panic everywhere. And the funny part?"
She glanced back at the TV.
The anchor spoke again:
"—experts still cannot determine where the beasts are coming from—"
She sighed.
"They still don't know where the beasts are coming from."
Silence on the other end.
Then she added softly,
"…Means things are about to get dangerous."
Sirens echoed faintly outside in the distance.
The city hadn't slept.
But she looked wide awake.
"Anyway," she said, heading toward the door, "get ready. Something big's starting."
She hung up.
On the TV, the reporter's voice trembled slightly.
"Authorities warn this may not be the last attack."
The apartment door clicked shut.
And somewhere in the city—
something moved again.
The hallway outside her apartment was quiet.
Too quiet.
The elevator lights flickered, and somewhere far below, a siren wailed again.
The city still hadn't recovered from the attack.
She stood there for a second, hand on the stair rail, pretending she was just thinking about where to go next.
But her fingers tightened slightly.
Her heartbeat was faster than normal.
She exhaled through her nose.
"…Tch."
Back inside the apartment, the TV still played the emergency broadcast, voices echoing faintly through the door she'd just closed.
Over a thousand dead.
Entire streets destroyed.
And no one knew where the creatures came from.
For just a moment, the memory flashed in her mind — the distant roar from last night, the ground shaking, the sky glowing red from somewhere across the city.
Her stomach twisted.
She swallowed it down immediately.
Fear?
No.
Just annoyance.
Yeah. That's what it was.
Annoying.
She straightened, pushing her hands into her pockets, expression returning to its usual calm confidence.
If anyone saw her now, they'd think she was bored.
Unbothered.
Curious, even.
Her phone buzzed again in her pocket.
A message:
"You scared?"
She scoffed quietly and typed back while walking.
"Of what?"
A second later:
"Those demons. People are saying they'll attack again."
She rolled her eyes.
"Relax. If they come, I'll just move somewhere else."
Send.
Easy.
Casual.
No hesitation.
She slipped the phone away and stepped outside into the cooling evening air.
Only when a helicopter roared overhead did her shoulders tense slightly.
Only for a second.
Then she walked on as if nothing was wrong.
Because admitting fear?
That wasn't her style.
Even if, deep down…
She hoped the monsters didn't come tonight.