Part 2 – Wings in the Darkness
The morning was overcast, the sky shrouded in a gray haze.
As Riku slung his bag over his shoulder, that familiar feeling returned—that strange, inner calling.
Riku (inner voice): "This feeling… like someone's watching me."
Ren Takemura was waiting for him outside the door, as always.
Milk in one hand, phone in the other—as if oblivious to everything, with his usual cheerful demeanor.
Ren: "You didn't eat breakfast again, did you?"
Riku: "You're like a detective every morning."
Ren: "I'm no detective, but I can't watch my friend starve to death."
The two set off, laughing.
The roads, the streets, the children going to school… everything was ordinary.
But this day was not going to be ordinary.
Into the Night at School
Classes went by normally throughout the day.
But after the dismissal bell rang, Riku and Ren stayed in the library to finish their homework.
It had started to rain, and it had quickly darkened outside.
Ren: "I guess everyone left. The school couldn't have been this quiet."
Riku: "It hasn't even been an hour, I don't understand how it got so dark."
Riku closed his notebook and stood up to turn off the lights.
The hallway was deserted.
Only the flickering light of the fluorescent lights reflected on the walls.
At that moment…
A humming noise was heard.
A high-pitched, disturbing buzzing sound.
Ren: "What's this—"
Riku: "Be quiet…"
A shadow crept from the corner of the ceiling.
Then, hundreds of black flies swarmed through the window.
As Riku tried to shield his eyes, someone appeared from the darkness.
A tall, slender man.
He wore a torn school uniform, his face pale, his eyes a dark green.
He trembled as if he had been mingled with the flies.
???: "Staying at school this late… it's not smart at all."
Ren: "You… who are you!?"
???: "Me? They call me Kabuto Shira. My animal spirit: 'Hae no Sei'… Spirit of the Fly."
Riku took a step back, his eyes widening.
Flies began to swirl around the man.
Kabuto: "I hear the whispers of the spirits, child. There's… a strong scent within you. You have a sleeping spirit, don't you?"
Riku: "What are you saying!?"
Kabuto: "You're a spirit bearer like me. But your spirit is still asleep. What a shame… because you'll die before you wake it."
The man raised his hand.
Flies suddenly swept over them like a black wave.
Ren shouted, Riku tried to shield him, but nothing was visible in the dark room.
Ren: "Riku! My eye—! I can't see!"
Kabuto: "The smell of fear… how delicious."
At that moment, the sound of a howl echoed in Riku's ears.
It was that sound again.
The voice of the wolf spirit.
Ōkami no Sei (whispering): "Wake up… call me…"
Riku: "You… you again!"
Ōkami no Sei: "Just say one word. Let me protect you."
Riku fell to his knees, feeling a warmth in his heart.
A silver light rose from his hands.
Riku: "Wolf… Voice…!"
In an instant, an invisible wave of howling echoed through the room.
The glass shattered, flies hit the walls and fell to the floor.
Kabuto staggered back, his eyes wide with anger.
Kabuto: "This energy… how could you wake up so early!?"
Riku: "Even I don't know… but I won't be afraid of you!"
The wolf's voice echoed again.
Riku's eyes flashed—icy blue.
Ōkami no Sei: "Good boy... the hunt begins."
Kabuto's flies rose again, but this time Riku was ready.
The first battle, the first step that would change his destiny, began in the darkness of that night.
As the episode ends, a full moon appears outside the school window.
Riku's shadow resembles a wolf on the wall.