The room was quiet for a few seconds after Kojiro had finally left, like everyone was waiting to make sure he wasn't secretly watching them or something.
Then, Ren stood and stretched, loudly wincing at a sore shoulder. "At least I know yesterday wasn't a dream now."
Daiki raised an eyebrow. "You're realizing this now...? Do your dreams usually involve getting chased by ugly monsters?"
Ren shrugged. "Yea. Pretty often, actually."
Daiki snorted.
Ren leaned against the edge of Daiki's desk, arms crossed. "What happened to you and Tsukiko, though? I wanna get the scoop on this!"
Daiki rubbed the back of his neck. "To be honest... we barely made it. Yui kinda saved my ass, though. If she hadn't... I'd probably be a smear on some wall in the Hollow District."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Wowww. Didn't think a small guy like you would have the guts to admit that."
Daiki frowned at Ren's jab but mainly ignored it. "Yeaaah. She unlocked her Ketsugojin right when we needed it. Summoned something... saved both of our asses. I owe her big time."
Yui looked up briefly and turned her head, cheeks tinted with a slight pink. "..You don't have to say that."
"It doesn't matter," Daiki said firmly. "I'd be dead without you yesterday. That's all there is to it."
Yui hesitated.
"...Then... thank you," she said quietly.
Ren immediately cut into the moment of appreciation, smirking and shaking his head like a child. "Soooo, you got rescued like a princess... and the real hero was Tsukiko!" He nudged Daiki lightly. "Fushino... you were just along for the ride, huh?"
Daiki leaned back and made a face. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like a gorilla...?"
After that, the class settled into casual conversation and camaraderie. Considering they were a group of 'lambs' that had been thrown to the wolves, it was strangely... comforting.
An hour passed in what seemed like just minutes, and the chatter around the class dwindled as everyone settled into their seats, ready for the third day of Kojiro's life-threatening 'lessons'.
The door opened again with a loud click, and Kojiro stepped in, his sharp eyes scanning the room. His hand was, unsurprisingly, holding onto the sheath of his katana.
"Sit up straight, lambs," he said, voice low once again but still commanding. "Class is in session."
Class 1-F was almost immediately scared straight into listening. Even the fidgety students stopped moving so much. Kojiro paced in front of the chalkboard before suddenly stopping and turning towards. "Now, today I've decided to teach the real mechanics behind what some of you did or... failed to do yesterday. Not just swinging punches, throwing knives, or fighting for survival."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"We're talking about what makes each and every Exorcist.... an Exorcist."
Kojiro tapped what seemed to be a button on the podium up front, flashing several holographic figures into the room, showing glowing lines flowing through simulated Exorcists.
"Alright, lambs, pay attention. That glow? That's Reiki. Think of it like your personal energy, your life force. Everyone has it, but you lambs can amplify, direct, and weaponize it for your benefit."
Daiki leaned forward a bit and tilted his head, his eyes unintentionally fascinated by the 'cool' glowing lines.
"Problem is," Kojiro continued, pacing in front of the figures, "some of you, probably most of you, are god-awful at controlling Reiki. Even the most proficient students in the class are only scratching the surface. Control it, and maybe you'll grow from being a lamb and become a lion. Misuse it... and you'll end up as just another snack for a predator."
Daiki looked down at his palm, his self-awareness making him realize he was one of the people with 'god-awful control'. Even Matsuda had said so, it was no wonder he was sore all the time.
Maybe this class was useful for something that didn't involve me almost dying.
Kojiro snapped his fingers, and the figures shifted again, now forming rows of simulated Exorcists creating fire, making weapons, among other things.
"And your Ketsugojin, your signature weapon, is eighty percent of an Exorcist's skillset. Some of you enhance your bodies, some of you create things, some of you... are just weird." His wild smirk returned for a moment. "And that's not an insult, necessarily."
"The point," he said, leaning closer to the students, "is that your Ketsugojin isn't just a tool or 'supermove'. It's a reflection of you. How strong it becomes, how versatile it is, and your control over it depend entirely on how well you can channel your Reiki through it. Some of you saw and experienced what can happen when it activates under stress."
His grin sharpened a bit, an intimidating and wild aura emanating from his body.
"That's your Ketsugojin manifesting its potential."
Daiki shifted in his seat, an awkward smile on his face. Knowing exactly who Kojiro was talking about was... a weird feeling to say the least.
Kojiro raised another hand, this time gesturing toward a series of holographic charts.
"This part's boring," he said. "But my superiors are forcing me to tell you."
A few students straightened in their seats anyway.
"Exorcists are classified from E-rank all the way. E-rank, which is you guys, are basically 'newborn lambs', F-rank is 'getting your hooves wet', and it goes up from there. D, C, B... you get the idea."
He clapped his hands, catching everyone's fleeting attention in a flash.
"A-rank Exorcists? True lions. They are the ones who uphold the standards of what an Exorcist should strive to be. S-rank? Anomalies. These guys can take down whole cities by themselves."
The room went still for a moment as Kojiro paused.
"Don't get it twisted, these aren't people you look up to."
His expression was still the same, but his tone felt drastically different.
"They're people you pray never, ever notice you."
He tapped the button again, and a glowing scale appeared, color-coded from a dull gray to a blazing hot red. "You, Class 1-F, are... well, you're still lambs. Compared to Classes 1-A, 1-B, and even 1-C, you're behind. But raw lambs with potential can grow into predators. That's what yesterday was all about. Observation, reaction, and adaptation."
Kojiro's grin twisted, sharp and mischievous. "You're not being watched because you're special; you're being watched because this school wants to see if you can survive long enough to become strong. Survive, learn, adapt, and maybe... just maybe... you'll get noticed. Fail, and you'll be the cautionary tale the next batch of lambs hear about."
The students exchanged nervous glances. Daiki's fists clenched slightly in his lap. Surviving yesterday was already terrifying, but hearing Kojiro describe it in this way...
Made it feel even more real.
"I'll use you two as an example," Kojiro's fingers flicked over to Daiki and Yui. "Remember what I said about adaptation. Yesterday, Tsukiko unlocked her summon at the perfect moment. That's what being a good Exorcist is all about—quick and controlled thinking, along with a Ketsugojin that listens to your will. Fushino... you followed through, even if you got... your ass kicked a bit."
Ren loudly snorted alongside a couple of other students.
"But," he added, "you didn't stop moving and kicked ass right back."
Kojiro's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's the only reason you're both still alive."
Daiki blinked, rubbing his temple.
Kojiro clapped his hands once, making the images flicker away. "That's enough chatter for today. You've got the basics now. Reiki flows through you. Your Ketsugojin channels it. And your growth depends on how smartly, or rather, brutally, you can use it. Take this, remember it, and try to apply it before your next lesson. Or... don't. But don't complain when you become a predator's snack."
A few students shivered.
Kojiro straightened, smirk growing smaller. "Class dismissed. Eat, train, or nap if you're smart. But remember, this is just the beginning."
And with that... he left.
Daiki exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging as the tension in the room released. Yui glanced at him, her eyes bright but thoughtful. He gave her a small nod of appreciation.
Ren nudged him lightly as they got up. "Still think you're the princess or the hero now, Fushino?"
Daiki shook his head with an annoyed grin. "I'm still the guy who's a thousand times smarter than you."
The class shuffled out, murmuring and whispering, each student silently processing the lesson in their own way.
And in the back of Daiki's mind, one thought lingered:
This year would only get crazier from here on out.