The Eternal Swordsman
Chapter 5: Hitorika high
The ruins of West Shibuya still smoldered when the moon began to sink. Buildings sagged with broken steel, streetlights flickered with dying sparks, and the once-bustling plaza was now a graveyard of silence and ash. Hiruko Kyotetsu leaned against a toppled signboard, his katana of moonlight fading into nothing in his palm, chest heaving. As his wounds slowly Healed because of the karma energy.
"Damn…" he muttered, voice hoarse. "That was insane."
The Hollowkind were gone at least, the ones he'd managed to cut down alongside Hayate Senju and the cold, brooding Haku. But their final moments had been strange. Too strange. They hadn't fought like wild beasts. They'd moved in patterns, as if obeying commands.
Hayate noticed it too. He stood straight, his crimson katana vanishing in a flare of red sparks, his face unreadable. "They weren't just roaming," he said flatly. "Someone was pulling the strings."
Before Hiruko could answer, a gust of wind swept across the ruined plaza. Lantern-like flames flickered into existence, floating in the air, bathing the carnage in a strange violet glow.
From the haze walked two figures.
The first towered like a noble phantom: Lady Ryuka Rouken, Master of Division Two. Her long dark-grey hair rippled like silk even in the still air, her pale violet eyes sharp and unblinking. The way her uniform flowed gave her an aura not of cloth, but of storm winds bound to a human frame. Hiruko's first thought was blunt, reverent.
"Damn… she's like the definition of a master swordswoman."
At her side was a girl his age, petite and graceful, with short straight silver hair and emerald-green eyes that seemed too bright against the gloom. Her name he overheard Hayate murmur it was Hanabi Kyoto, Ryuka's PA. She carried herself with discipline, but when her eyes landed on Hiruko, her serious demeanor cracked for a heartbeat. Her lips parted in the faintest smile, and she looked at him with an admiration she quickly tried to hide.
Hiruko caught it, though. His cheeks warmed. "…Yo, what's that about?"
The violet flames multiplied, spreading across the ruins. With a flick of her wrist, Ryuka drew her katana. The blade glowed with a restrained light, humming with ancient power. She slashed the air once, and the flames spread outward, swallowing broken steel, rubble, and even traces of Hollowkind blood.
When the light faded, the plaza was… clean. No scars of battle, no monster husks. Only silence, as though nothing had ever happened here.
"The humans will wake tomorrow," Ryuka said coolly, sheathing her blade, "and believe this was nothing but a gas leak and a fire. Division Two ensures the balance."
Hayate bowed his head slightly. "Master Ryuka."
She raised an eyebrow. "Report."
"The Hollowkind moved in coordination," Hayate said, voice calm but edged with concern. "They were commanded. Someone guided them."
Ryuka's gaze sharpened. "Are you certain?"
"Yes."
Silence stretched, heavy as chains. Then she turned to Hanabi, who had been stealing sidelong glances at Hiruko the entire time. "Write it down," Ryuka ordered.
Hanabi nodded quickly, pulling a slim notebook from her uniform. But even as she scribbled, her eyes flicked toward Hiruko, her lips curving in a half-smile she probably thought he wouldn't notice.
Hiruko scratched the back of his head, muttering under his breath, "Yo… why's she lookin' at me like that? I'm not that special."
Hayate smirked faintly. "Maybe you are."
Hiruko shot him a look. "Bruh, shut up."
That night, Hiruko sat at the kitchen table across from his father. The lights were dim, the smell of tea steeping between them. Hide Kyotetsu studied his son with the same piercing eyes that had always cut past his excuses.
"You saw it, didn't you?" Hide said quietly.
Hiruko exhaled slowly. "Yeah, Dad. Monsters. Hollows whatever they're called. And these… swordsmen. They're real."
Hide's jaw tightened, but he didn't look surprised because he knew all along and their is stuff even Hiruko don't know. Instead, he reached for his cup and sipped. "If you join them, Hiruko… there's no turning back. You'll inherit their wars. Their burdens. Do you understand that?"
Hiruko leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "I dunno, man. But… when I fought that thing, I felt like like I couldn't just stand there. Like the sword picked me, y'know? If I don't keep going, people die. Simple as that."
For a long moment, Hide said nothing. Then he stood, walked over, and set a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "Then go. But remember you're still my son before you are their soldier, but truth is I don't want you to go, but you not the first one I didn't want to let go" Hiruko had a concerned face as he heard his dad say that
Hiruko smiled faintly. "Thanks, Pops."
The next morning, Hiruko walked through the imposing gates of the Hitorika High School, his new uniform crisp against his skin. The academy loomed like a fortress and a temple fused into one: towering walls, banners fluttering with clan insignias, and young swordsmen training in open courtyards.
"Damn," Hiruko muttered under his breath. "This place makes my old dojo look like a playground."
He adjusted his bag strap, scanning the courtyard when he froze.
A girl stood by the fountain.
Her hair was long, straight, and golden blond, falling just to her shoulders, catching the sun like threads of fire. Her face was strikingly symmetrical, her features soft yet proud, and her eyes one green, one blue glittered with a strange intensity.
"Heter...Heterochromia…" Hiruko thought, dumbstruck barely able to say it properly. She looks like she walked straight out of a painting.
Then she turned, catching his stare. Her lips curved into the faintest smirk, equal parts beauty and arrogance.
"You're the new one," she said coolly. "Kyotetsu, right? Try not to slow the rest of us from division 6 down."
Hiruko blinked, caught between awe and annoyance. "Yo, what's your deal? I didn't even say hi yet."
Her smirk widened. "Hamuro Yamada. Remember it. My family's been supporting the Swordsmen since before you were even thought of. Don't expect me to hold your hand."
She brushed past him, her perfume faint and sharp, leaving Hiruko standing there with his mouth half open.
"…Damn," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Beautiful and rude. Lucky me, I guess this is the arrogance of people in the frontline"
Far above, in the lacquered sanctum of the headquarters, Headmaster Ukoten Senju sat at his desk. Scrolls lay open around him, moonlight gleaming on the silver edges of his long black hair. His samurai mask covered his mouth, his royal-blue eyes glinting beneath his lashes. He was reading reports when the air rippled.
From the corner of the office, a distortion bled into existence. A Hollowkind, small and twisted, clawed its way out. But this one… did not roar.
It spoke.
Its mouth gaped, and through it came the voice of another cold, bitter, human.
"One week," it rasped. "One week, and I will release more than two thousand Hollowkind into Tokyo. Do as you will… kill me… but you will still lose."
Ukoten's eyes narrowed.
The voice continued, trembling with hate. "I do hate y..."
The words cut short as Ukoten's blade flashed in a single, perfect arc. The Hollowkind's body dissolved into ash before it finished speaking.
The office fell silent again, moonlight spilling across the polished floor.
Ukoten rested the blade back at his side. His voice was calm, but heavy as thunder.
"…Juzou."
To be continued…