The morning sun shone over the Shinyo Institute, slipping through the windows of Daiki's dorm. He yawned, rolling over with a groan that was really, really loud. His body still ached from that "trip" from yesterday, but it was feeling he was slightly getting used to now.
"Morning, princess," Jin said, sitting on his bed, eating crackers. "You still look like a mess."
Daiki rubbed his neck. "Yeah, it's the morning. Do you look good in the morning?" His hair stood out in every direction, as if he had been struck by lightning.
Jin snorted. "I sure do look better than you."
Daiki laughed, standing up and walking over to the bathroom door to brush his teeth and get clean. "I look way better than you."
For the first time, the two got dressed at the same time. Daiki wore his blazer properly, but his uniform shirt was half-untucked, and Jin wore his uniform in a way that was just enough to pass. They headed down to the cafeteria together, chatting it up a bit along the way. The smell of rice, miso soup, and eggs filled the air, instantly waking up Daiki more than any shower ever could.
"Finally," Daiki muttered, grabbing a tray. "Feels like I haven't eaten in ages."
Jin arched an eyebrow. "We ate together yesterday."
"Dude, shut up. I was over exaggerating." Daiki huffed, stuffing more rice into his bowl like he was trying to prove his point.
After getting their food, they went over to their table and sat across from each other. Daiki began to tear into his rice like a hungry dog. Jin watched, trying not to laugh. "Didn't you say you usually skip breakfast?"
"Don't know if you've noticed," Daiki said, a grain of rice stuck on his cheek, "This place keeps throwing me in situations where every meal could be my last."
Breakfast passed with the two of them trading small jokes, Daiki talking a little faster than usual when he got excited. Eventually, breakfast passed, and the two parted ways to go to their individual classes.
Right back to Class 1-F.
Daiki shuffled into the classroom like a battered old veteran. He looked around, and none of his classmates looked any better.
Not even Ren, surprisingly.
He flopped into his seat.
"Man... everything hurts."
Ren glanced over. "Yeah, and with a tiny body like yours, I'm surprised you're still alive."
Daiki opened his mouth to argue—
SLAM.
The classroom door flew open.
Kojiro stepped in.
No grin. No wild look in his eyes. No theatrics.
Just sharp eyes, hand on the hilt of his katana, and a pressure that immediately forced everyone upright.
"Alright, lambs," he said, voice slicing through the air with unusual calmness. "Debrief time."
The room froze.
Kojiro walked to the front, gaze sweeping across the small room as if he was doing a headcount of who was still alive.
"First off: you all lived."
He smacked his hands together once, loud enough to make a couple of students jump.
"That already makes you lambs above average."
That made Daiki shift in his seat a bit.
"What a certain pair fought yesterday wasn't a normal Class I encounter." He scratched a line across the chalkboard. "Not even close."
Yui's hands tightened on her skirt.
Daiki leaned forward without meaning to.
Kojiro continued, voice level:
"The Hollow District is a wound in Japan. Yurei gather, multiply, and eventually migrate once they grow enough. Things shift without warning. That fusion you saw? That's not normal behavior."
He lifted a hand to maintain silence.
"That pack was mimicking higher-rank tactics. Smart. Coordinated. Evolving."
Kojiro paused.
"And before any of you ask how I know any of this when I wasn't with you inside..."
He tapped the chalkboard with his knuckle.
"There are surveillance cameras throughout the Hollow District."
The class straightened.
"Low visibility. High grade. Installed years ago for one reason: the Institute uses the District as a training ground, and we need eyes on the first-years so we can learn who are lambs and who can grow into lions."
A few students paled.
Daiki swallowed.
Kojiro shrugged, casual but sharp.
"So yes. I saw everything. All the running. The screaming. The shitty survival instincts. And the moment your little friend here," his finger flicked toward Yui, "decided to bare her fangs."
Yui's fingers instinctively brushed the center of her chest, the place where the wisps of energy had sunk into the day before.
"Don't get it twisted," Kojiro added, "cameras don't cover everything. But they show enough for us to know when something in that place evolves... like a student."
He took a seat in his chair up front.
"Which is why you lambs need to learn to adapt, or you'll die."
The words felt like an execution notice.
Kojiro's gaze lingered on Yui. Then Daiki. Then Ren.
"And since you dragged yourselves back alive, you earned information you normally wouldn't get."
He leaned against the desk.
"The Hollow District predates the Institute. Formed hundreds of years ago after what we believed to be the exorcism of a Class V Yurei. We still don't know that for sure, however."
Daiki tugged at his bracelet without realizing.
"Your mission tested two things:
One: Survival instincts.
Two: Whether your Ketsugojin fires or flees under pressure."
Kojiro smirked.
"And oh boy... did some of you lambs react."
Confused whispers filled the room.
Daiki and Yui weren't confused at all.
Kojiro pushed off his seat.
"From now on, Class 1-F is under constant observation. The faculty wants to see how you batch of lambs develop. Try not to make me look bad."
He clapped.
"Questions?"
Dead silence.
"Great. Saves time."
Kojiro turned to leave... paused... gave a brief, almost approving look toward Daiki and Yui...
Then it vanished.
"Ok, you lambs are dismissed for now. You can do whatever you want, but come back here in an hour."
He walked out.
The class exhaled like air returning to a vacuum.
Daiki slumped back.
"Why is he scarier when he's calm?"
Ren snorted. "He reminds me of my old English teacher."
"Shut up," Daiki muttered.
But even with the joking...
Daiki knew one thing for sure:
There were still a lot of things about his new life that he didn't know.