You're not here anymore to pursue your dreams
So I'll pursue your dreams and I see how far I can reach
*******
The staff and hunters of the HFA sat in the observation room, watching the progress of their students since enrolling in the academy in August. The first-year students had already rushed into the battlegrounds the moment Gabriel announced the exams had begun. All eyes were on the third group, particularly on Rin Aikawa. His Clarion technique had piqued everyone's interest when they had looked through his file.
As Rin and Takimo entered the battlegrounds, they quickly encountered shadow monsters, just as Gabriel had warned.
Rin: Takimo! We'll split up and take down these shadow monsters! Once they're dead, we'll regroup and move forward!
Takimo: Right!
Takimo sprinted off in a different direction, with five shadow monsters hot on his heels.
Rin now faced the remaining five shadow monsters alone, and everyone in the observation room leaned forward in anticipation of what they knew was coming; the revelation of Rin's technique.
Rin: [WHITE: BEAST SYNTHESIS, WOLF]
Rin Aikawa's Clarion technique, Beast Synthesis, allows him to exhibit the traits of the animals tattooed on his left arm: the eagle, wolf, ape, and starfish. However, he can only channel one animal at a time.
Rin Aikawa activated the WOLF.
In an instant, his body answered the call. Dark claws tore from his fingers, sharp and brutal, and the world around him seemed to slow. Every sound grew louder. Every breath, every scrape of movement, every shift in the air told him exactly where danger was.
Rin rolled up his sleeves and then seemingly vanished from the sight of the monsters.
The shadow monsters barely had a chance to register him before he was already among them. His wolf senses tracked every strike before it was thrown. One tried to take him from behind but Rin turned and ended it in a single motion. Another leapt towards him and he slipped under it and ripped through its core.
By the time the echoes of the battle faded, five monsters lay scattered across the ground, completely still. Rin stood in the center of it all, breathing steadily, eyes glowing with quiet dominance.
The spectators in the observation room were impressed.
Takimo stopped a few yards away, planting his feet as the shadows shifted around him. Five shadow monsters crept forward, their distorted forms writhing in the dim light.
He exhaled slowly, steadying himself.
Takimo: (to himself) So this is what a Shadow monster looks like up close… Strange. Something that could end my life is standing right in front of me and yet... I'm not afraid.
Kato's face flashed through his mind and the memory sharpened his focus. A confident smile tugged at his lips.
Takimo: [WHITE: BURNING RESOLVE]
Light surged from his core.
Flames bloomed in his hand like flowers when the sunlight touches them. With a single sweeping motion, Takimo hurled the fire forward. The blaze roared across the arena like a living wave, swallowing three of the monsters whole. Their screams were cut short as their bodies disintegrated into drifting ash.
The remaining two turned and ran.
Without hesitation, Takimo pivoted.
Takimo: [WHITE: FLAMING ARROW]
In one fluid motion, he forged a bow of fire from raw light-energy. The string ignited between his fingers. Two blazing arrows formed at once.
Thrum.
He released.
The arrows tore through the air, streaks of radiant heat and precision. Both shadows were struck mid-escape, pierced cleanly, bursting apart in flashes of white flame before they even hit the ground.
Silence fell over the arena.
Up in the observation room, the HFA board members leaned forward in their seats.
Haruto: It seems your students are quite talented, Jason. What have you been teaching them?
Jason: (smirks back) Who knows? I just told them to do their best. Besides
Takimo met up with Rin, who was wiping shadow monster blood from his hands. Takimo noticed there was no weapon in sight, meaning it had to be the work of Rin's technique.
Rin: (notices Takimo) Oh, you're back. I thought you'd take longer.
Takimo: Yeah, I am. So… you cleared them faster than I did?
Rin: (uninterested) Hm. Let's keep moving. We can't afford to stall here.
Takimo: Right.
The two pushed deeper into the battleground, cutting down more shadow monsters as they advanced. Inside his mind, Rin repeated the same mantra over and over.
GOT TO KEEP MOVING!!
GOT TO KEEP MOVING!!
GOT TO KEEP MOVING!!
I'LL BE THE ONE TO FULFILL MY BROTHER'S DREAM!!!
**************************************
I never fancied the idea of becoming a hunter. It always seemed like too much work. But my twin brother, Ayato, was different. I was the younger twin, and Ayato was the elder. He had always dreamed of becoming a hunter, and he got even more excited when we awakened our techniques.
Ayato: Hey Rin, I'm going to become a Level 1 Hunter and take down all the shadow monsters in the world so it's safe for everyone.
Rin: You're starting to sound like a superhero, big brother. Are you sure you want to be a hunter?
Ayato: Of course! And when I do, I'll tell everyone you're my little brother.
Rin: Please don't do that.
But then, in May, everything changed. The shadow bug incident happened, and both Ayato and my father were bitten. They turned into shadow monsters. They would have killed me too, if the hunters hadn't come and taken them down. Seeing shadow monsters up close changed everything.
I thought shadows were responsible for the shadow bug incident, so my hatred was aimed at them. But in August, when a Level 2 Hunter died, a group called the Kaimi Daja stepped forward, taking responsibility and admitting they were behind all the shadow bug incidents.
One thing became clear: the Kaimi Daja had to be stopped.
*****
Rin: (to himself) Ayato couldn't fulfill his dream… so I'll do it for him. I'll make the world safe for everyone. And I'll prove my resolve by passing this exam, even if it means working with someone I don't exactly like.
He glanced at Takimo, who was lost in his thoughts.
Just then, their opponent appeared: a second-year student named John Leachson.
John: (caressing his blonde hair) Oh, so you're the first-years. I'll be your opponent. Show me what you've got.
Rin: (rolling up his sleeves) Takimo, we can't afford to lose here.
Takimo: (clenching his fists) We won't.