"Well, I'm gonna be straight with you. Your homeroom teacher is dead,"
Kenta stated, not even slightly shocked. "They found him really roughed up, impaled on his office wall. It was messy. The one who killed him was none other than Miss Yamaguchi."
None of your classmates were hurt, but some of them had their life energy drained by Miss Yamaguchi and were left unconscious.
"Wait—are they going to be okay?" Aoi asked, clearly concerned.
"Don't worry. They're all fine. We have people who deal with things like that," Kenta replied.
"What about the school? Didn't they find out?" Sosuke asked.
"Yeah, small issues like that are easy to deal with," he said calmly. "There's a division in our organization that handles cleanups after attacks. They never leave traces."
"But won't the school look for the two teachers?" I asked.
"Good question. And no—they never existed in that school, or anywhere else. They're erased from existence thanks to our cleanup division."
"Nobody remembers any of them—and that's for the better. People fear what they don't understand. And in our case… their understanding would be even worse. It's better this way. We hide. We deal with these problems on our own."
Miss Yamaguchi was the nicest teacher I knew in that school, Aoi said, sadness clinging to her words.
"Oh yeah… about that," Kenta replied, spinning the chalk between his fingers like he had all the time in the world. "Guess I should explain a few things."
He strolled to the board and lazily scribbled three words across it.
"You all remember the Heian period, right? History class? Ghost stories,
people possessed by weird spirits, that kind of thing?"
"Yeah, we heard it," Aoi said, and we nodded along. "But none of us ever paid attention. It was just folklore."
Kenta chuckled under his breath. "Folklore, huh? Cute. See, here's what your teachers left out. You know how the Arabs came to Japan through Chinese trade, some even intermarried here? That's true. But what they didn't tell you is why they came."
He glanced over his shoulder, a grin tugging at his lips. "Those merchants had already heard the stories. Possessions. People losing themselves. They came to see if the rumors were real."
Kenta tapped the chalk against the board. Click. Click. His voice dropped lower now, the smile still there but his eyes sharp.
"Long story short? They found out it wasn't just rumors. And they were the first to deal with it. The first Ruhbinders. They taught the Japanese how to fight back."
He underlined the last word he'd written. Hyoitai.
"That's what they called the possessed. The name stuck."
As time passed, an organization had already been established in Japan, strong enough to support itself without outside help. The main Arab families eventually left, returning to their homeland once their job here was done.
Of course, a few remained behind, and through the years, they had already intermarried with the locals.
"What exactly possessed people and turned them into these Hyoitai you're talking about?" Aoi asked, concern sharp in her voice.
"Good question," Kenta replied, tapping the chalk against the board. "That's exactly where I'm heading next."
"See, we're all born with Ruh naturally."
"Ruh?" I echoed, confused.
"The soul, you idiots," Aoi cut in, glaring at me and Sosuke like we'd just failed a kindergarten quiz.
"Well excuse us," Sosuke grumbled. "How were we supposed to know?"
"You wouldn't—since you've been skipping Arabic class," Aoi shot back without mercy.
"Yeah, Aoi's right. Point for her," Kenta said with a smirk. "Anyway, naturally everyone is born with a Ruh. And within it flows raw natural energy, what we call Ruh essence. But here's the twist—everyone is also born with a Djinn tied to them."
"A Djinn?" we all repeated in unison.
"Wait—aren't Djinns just mythical creatures in Arabic folklore?" Aoi asked.
"Yeah? And what do you know about them?" Kenta countered smoothly.
"Well, according to the stories I've read… they're not ordinary beings. They're fast, strong, and they possess strange abilities."
Kenta smiled. "Exactly. You're right."
"And then," Kenta continued, chalk still in hand, "we have Nafs."
"Our inner self. Desires. Instincts," Aoi answered quickly, a little too proud of herself.
Kenta chuckled. "Guess all that Arabic you studied is paying off, huh? More points for you, Aoi."
She smirked, clearly enjoying her small victories.
"Now…" Kenta's tone shifted, becoming heavier. "Let's go back to Miss Yamaguchi."
The room went silent.
"Your homeroom teacher, Mr. Sato—he had been chasing her for months, trying to force himself into her life. Kept asking her out. Pressuring her. Seriously, he was nearly twice her age."
Sosuke groaned. "Pathetic."
Kenta's expression darkened. "Miss Yamaguchi rejected him. Over and over. But Sato didn't stop. One night, he asked her to help him with work after school hours. She couldn't say no—it was her job. But that night…" His voice dropped, the chalk pausing mid-air.
"He raped her. Beat her so badly she was left on the brink of death. Then, like the coward he was, he dumped her body and made up an excuse about visiting his parents to cover his tracks."
The three of us froze. My throat tightened. Aoi's hand trembled against her desk. Sosuke clenched his fists. The weight of Kenta's words crushed the air in the room.
Kenta set the chalk down with a sharp clack. "Here's where you need to understand. Ruh essence is a shield. It protects your Ruh, and in turn, it holds your Nafs in check. Without it, the Djinn tied to you stirs."
His eyes narrowed. "Miss Yamaguchi's Ruh essence was already shattered—she was dying. Add in her overwhelming rage… her need for revenge…"
Kenta's hand cut through the air like a blade.
"The result?"
Aoi's voice cracked as she whispered, "…A Hyoitai."
Kenta nodded. "A monster. Being driven by pure Nafs, with full access to its Djinn's energy stream. And once that happens…"
He leaned forward, his shadow stretching across our desks.
"…your soul is no longer yours. It becomes a prisoner—trapped, screaming, while your own body turns against the world."
The image burned in my head—Miss Yamaguchi, smiling at us in class one moment, then twisted into that thing the next.
Kenta leaned back against the desk, his voice dropping as the classroom went silent.
"She tracked him down… killed his parents first. Then dragged him back to the very place he broke her. His office. Last night, she finally finished it."
My chest tightened. "All that happened… and we didn't notice?"
Kenta's eyes narrowed, almost pitying.
"There are things in this world that slip past ordinary eyes. It's not just you. And even if you had noticed… what could you have done?"
He tapped the board with his chalk.
"We sent Kuro after her, but… she'd already grown too strong. Even he couldn't handle her." His words hung heavy, then he straightened and smirked. "Now—are we clear up to this point?"
I nodded slowly.
"Then why the hell are we here?" I shot back.
Kenta grinned like he'd been waiting for that.
"Because not just anyone can become a Ruhbinder. The requirement is rare—an insanely high Ruh essence, right from birth. People like you three? You're one in a thousand. A gift…" his tone dropped, "…and a curse."
I clenched my fists. "So what, you're dragging us into this?"
"No," he said, pointing straight at me, grin sharp as a blade. "You were dragged in the moment you were born. I'm just the guy giving you answers."
The room went quiet. Kenta's smile softened, almost playful again.
"Now the time's come for you to step into the dark world we live in—and protect those who can't protect themselves."
I swallowed. "What if I reject all this?"
"That's on you," he said simply. "I'll train you. I'll teach you control. After that, you walk your own path. But…" his gaze locked onto mine, "if you turn your back, you'll live with the guilt of knowing you could have saved people. Let's see if you can carry that weight."
He stood, brushing chalk dust off his hands, and headed for the door. "Sit on that. Tomorrow, your training begins—whether you like it or not." He shot us a teasing smile. "Oh, and Kuro should be healed up by now. Ask him to give you a tour."
"Wait!" I shouted. "You haven't even told us where the hell we are!"
Kenta paused in the doorway, his laugh echoing through the room.
"Mount Takao. You're standing in the academy itself." He tilted his head with a sly grin. "Oh, and don't bother trying to escape. The mountain's bound—you'll just wander right back here. I'm the only one who can open the way out."
I glared. "So we're prisoners?"
"Nope. You've got all the freedom in the world… within the academy. Trust me, it's a beautiful place. You'll see." And with that, he vanished into the hallway.
The room fell into a heavy silence until Sosuke spoke up. "He… kinda has a point. This place is pretty amazing. And have you noticed? It's just us here. I haven't seen a single other student."
Before I could answer, the door slid open again. A tall figure stepped in—the swordsman. His presence filled the room before his words did.
"My name is Khalid Kurosawa," he said flatly. "Call me Kuro." His tone was clipped, cold—like someone who only spoke when necessary.
"That's him!" I blurted. "The one who saved us last night!"
"Yeah—Sosuke and I would've been dead without you," I added.
"Then I owe you lunch," Sosuke grinned.
Kuro's eyes softened just slightly. "Don't sweat it. It's my job."
"You sure you're healed up? You were roughed up bad," I asked.
He gave the smallest of nods. "I'm good. Don't worry. Now—come on. I'll show you around."
We followed him out, the air different now—like the world had shifted under our feet. I glanced sideways. Aoi and Sosuke were chatting with Kuro, calm, almost curious.
Me? My mind was spinning.
Is this it? Is this the moment my life changes forever? Am I even ready for this?
The mountain wind swept past us, and I had my answer. Ready or not… the path had already opened.
"So, tomorrow marks the start of your training," Kuro said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You better prepare yourself… because it's going to be hell."