Fire. The sickening scent of copper and dripping blood. The choking ash of charred wood, and the shattered pieces of a family fallen apart.
"Shujin, come here!"
"Mommy's still here!" her voice cracked, desperately cutting through the thick, black smoke.
My mom ran over, dropping to her knees, and pulled me into a bone-crushing embrace. She buried her face in my shoulder, shaking violently.
I was the only thing she had left. I cried, and cried. My tears soaked through my clothes, dripping down to form a puddle on the scorched floorboards beneath me.
"Tokochi…. Papa… They're gone!" I sobbed, my small hands gripping the fabric of her dress.
She stroked my hair with trembling, soot-stained fingers. "I've got you, Shujin. I'm right here..."
But as she held me, the comforting warmth of her arms began to fade into a freezing chill. The flames around us roared louder, morphing into the deafening, distorted laughter of the Death Bringers.
The shadows in the corners of the room suddenly stretched, wrapping around my mother like jagged claws, ripping her out of my arms and pulling her into the suffocating darkness.
I reached out into the void, my throat tearing as I screamed.
SPLASH!
My eyes snapped open.
I jolted upright, water pouring from my mouth as I gasped violently for air. My hands were tangled so tightly in the thin sheets of my bunk that my knuckles were glowing white.
The suffocating smell of ash and blood instantly vanished, replaced by the sharp sting of cold water and the stale, metallic scent of the ship's barracks.
My gray pajamas were completely plastered to my skin, and my red hair was soaked, dripping heavy beads of water down my face.
"You okay, kid? You were thrashing around pretty good."
I blinked the stinging water from my eyes and looked up. Standing over me, holding an empty metal bucket, was Ayashi—the same scruffy deckhand who had given me advice the night before. But he wasn't wearing his wrinkled janitor rags anymore.
He was dressed in a pristine, pitch-black uniform with silver buttons running from the collar all the way down to his waist.
A deep, ocean-blue scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck. Even with his trademark lazy slouch, he carried an undeniable aura of authority that hadn't been there yesterday.
My mouth hung open in shock, my heart still hammering against my ribs from the panic of the dream.
A nightmare, I told myself, letting out a shaky exhale. Just a nightmare.
I wiped my face and looked around the cramped room. Ging was standing next to his bunk, shivering uncontrollably with his crooked glasses completely fogged up.
Across the room, Saki was sitting calmly on the edge of her mattress, meticulously wringing out her long, soaked blue hair.
"He just now getting you, huh?" Saki asked. Her voice was perfectly deadpan, completely unbothered by the fact that she looked like she had just been dragged through a hurricane.
"I thought I was drowning!" Ging complained, his teeth audibly chattering. "Couldn't you just knock?!"
"I did," Ayashi replied lazily, tossing the empty metal bucket onto the steel floor with a loud clang. "You ignored it. Now hurry up and get dressed. You've got five minutes to grab your gear and get up to the main deck."
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, the cold steel shocking my bare feet. "Why? What's going on?"
Ayashi smirked, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his black uniform.
He gestured lazily toward the small, circular porthole on the far wall of the cramped barracks.
"We've dropped anchor," Ayashi said, his voice finally losing its lazy drawl. For the first time, he spoke with a serious, undeniable weight. "Welcome to Runivia Island, kids. Home to the prestigious Elemental Swordsman Academy."
He turned toward the heavy steel door, his boots clicking sharply against the floorboards—a stark contrast to the shuffling steps he had taken the night before.
"Your official uniforms are already folded in your drawers. Dry off and get changed," Ayashi commanded, looking back at us with a sharp, piercing gaze. "Don't dawdle. The Academy is waiting."
Once Ayashi left, we didn't waste a second. We tore into the metal dressers, pulling out the pristine, dark-blue Academy uniforms.
They were tailored perfectly, complete with reinforced combat boots, high collars, and lightweight plating hidden beneath the fabric.
But as I pulled my jacket on, I noticed the heavy silver badge pinned over the heart.
Mine bore the crest of a sturdy shield wrapped in thick oak leaves—a quiet nod to the wooden sword at my hip and my vow to stand my ground.
I glanced over at Ging. He was frantically adjusting his crooked glasses, his chest proudly displaying a weathered, bronze compass—the mark of a scrappy survivor who had navigated the unforgiving streets. "Cool!" He said,
Across the room, Saki fastened her collar with absolute precision.
Her silver badge caught the dim light: a razor-sharp crescent moon reflecting over a single, perfectly still drop of water.
We were finally ready.
We stepped out onto the main deck, the bright morning sun temporarily blinding me after spending the night in the ship's dim lower levels.
Ayashi was waiting near the gangway, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black uniform. As we approached, his deep, calm eyes scanned over our crisp new attire and the gleaming badges pinned to our chests.
A faint, approving smirk crossed his face. "Not bad," he noted, his tone carrying a rare hint of genuine respect. "You kids almost look like real swordsmen. Don't trip on the way down."
We descended the heavy metal ramp, our boots hitting the cobblestone docks of Runivia Island. When I finally looked up, my breath hitched in my throat.
The Elemental Swordsman Academy wasn't just a school; it was a sprawling, fortified fortress carved directly into the heart of a massive mountain.
The sheer scale of it was dizzying. Stone towers pierced the clouds, and sprawling across the lower terraces were dozens of massive training grounds. Even from a distance, I could see arenas dedicated to different elements—pillars of flame erupting in one sector, massive geysers of water in another, and the faint, rhythmic ringing of steel echoing through the valley.
But before we could reach the grand stone staircase leading up to the main campus, we had to pass through a massive, wrought-iron gate.
A massive crowd was pressed against the barricades outside the entrance. It was a sea of parents, siblings, and guardians, all desperately trying to get one last glimpse of the recruits before we crossed the threshold into the Academy's restricted grounds.
I scanned the chaotic crowd, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"Shujin!"
The voice cut through the noise like a beacon. I snapped my head to the left.
Standing near the front of the wrought-iron barricades, waving frantically, was my mom. Right beside her stood Grandma Kaori and Grandpa Kyoto, their faces lighting up with pride the second they spotted my uniform.
I blinked in surprise; for some odd reason, Grandpa Kyoto was standing tall, completely without his usual walker.
"Look, it's our boy!" He called out, his voice thick with emotion. "You look just like your father already."
I smiled, a lump forming in my throat. "Thank you, Papa."
He looked at me, a single tear tracking down his weathered cheek. "Come here, boy."
I jogged over and gently wrapped my arms around him, careful not to squeeze too hard or knock him off balance.
We held the embrace for a long moment, the familiar, comforting weight of his hand patting my back grounding me.
When he finally pulled away, he met my eyes with unwavering certainty. "We're proud of you, boy. You worked hard for this."
"T-thank you," I managed to say, blinking back my own tears.
My mom was next. She reached through the barricade and pulled me into a tight, desperate embrace.
"Look at you," she whispered, her voice trembling as her fingers brushed the shield badge on my chest. "You made it."
Grandma Kaori stepped in right after, practically squeezing the life out of my arm with surprising strength.
For a brief moment, the heavy, suffocating burden of the past twenty-four hours completely washed away.
When I finally stepped back, I noticed two shadows lingering awkwardly a few paces behind me.
Ging was shifting his weight from foot to foot, pushing his crooked glasses up the bridge of his nose.
He watched the surrounding families with a quiet, hollow expression. Beside him, Saki stood with her arms crossed, her posture rigid and her glowing red eyes fixed intently on a random patch of cobblestone.
I looked at them, then back at my mom. "Ging... Saki, come here," I called out.
Ging blinked, pointing a finger at his own chest. "Me? Uh, I don't want to intrude on your family time, Shujinko. I don't really have anyone waiting for me, so I was just gonna wait by the gate..."
"My parents are on a 'business trip'," Saki added bluntly, making rigid air quotes with her fingers. Her deadpan tone was perfect, but she couldn't quite hide the slight tension in her jaw.
My mom didn't miss a beat. Her warm, teary-eyed smile widened as she looked past me to my two teammates.
"Nonsense," my mom said firmly. "A sweet boy like you and a beautiful girl like her deserves a proper send-off before entering the Swordsman Academy!"
Before either of them could protest, she reached past the gate, grabbing Ging by the sleeve and pulling him forward into a sudden, crushing hug. Ging's face went completely red.
His arms hovered awkwardly in the air before he finally, hesitantly, wrapped them around her.
"Thanks, miss," he mumbled.
Saki watched the display with wide eyes, completely frozen as the motherly crosshairs turned toward her next.
The terrifying, stoic prodigy didn't even try to dodge as Grandma Kaori reached out and affectionately pinched Saki's pale cheek.
"Seems my grandson has great taste in women," Kaori whispered, just loud enough for me to hear.
My face burned. "Grandma!" I yelled in embarrassment.
Saki managed a blunt, strained smile. "We're just friends, miss."
My grandma looked highly amused. "No way. A handsome boy like my grandson and a beautiful girl like you deserve each other."
Saki shot me a slightly agitated look. I offered an apologetic, embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of my neck. "G-grandma, please."
She gave me a stern look before her face cracked into a warm smile. "I'm just messing with you. Calm down."
I couldn't help but smile back. I stood there, watching my fragmented, grieving family instantly adopt the scrappy orphan and the powerful girl without a second thought. They had no idea what we've just went through yesterday.
I rested my hand on the hilt of my wooden sword, a genuine smile breaking across my face.
RUMBLE.
The heavy sound of the massive gates unlatching echoed through the courtyard, silencing the crowd.
"All recruits are now allowed to enter the Swordsman Academy," Kyo Harasayuki's cold, authoritative voice boomed through the overhead speakers.
I looked back at my family. "Seems like it's time for us to go."
My mother began to tear up again, her smile wavering. "Stay safe out there, son. We'll always watch over you."
"Always," Grandpa Kyoto echoed firmly.
"And don't forget your granny's cooking!" Kaori added, a bright smile forming on her face.
I smiled back. "I won't, Grandma. I promise."
I turned toward Saki and Ging. We all exchanged a slight nod, a silent agreement that the waiting was over. It was time to go.
"Bye, Ryomens!" Ging called out, waving enthusiastically as my family waved back.
Together, the three of us turned around. It was finally time to enter the Academy.