The firstthing Daiki noticed was the ceiling.
Not the one from Hanamori. Not the cracked paint or faint water stains on the walls in Room 204. This ceiling was high, smooth, and clean. Pale wooden beams stood overhead, lit by soft paper lanterns that cast unfamiliar light into Daiki's eyes.
He blinked once. Then again. His whole body ached.
"...Am I dead?" he croaked.
"No. But you're lucky."
Daiki turned his head. A young woman sat beside the bed, her arms crossed. She wore a crisp and clean lab coat, her black hair was tied in a low bun, and her green eyes were sharp but not unkind. She kinda looked like a school nurse—if the nurse was in an anime or some weird video game.
Her eyes kept drifting to his hands.
"I don't know what kind of insane burnout you just triggered," she said, "but the fact your body is still intact is a miracle."
What a way to introduce yourself.
"...What is this place? Who are you?" Daiki muttered, trying to sit up. His arms were very sore, and his back was stiffer than stone. He was forced to try to ignore the pain in his head.
"I'm Midori Sagawa. Lead medic and research specialist at the Shinyo Institute."
"...The what now?"
"The building you're in right now is called the Shinyo Institute," Midori said. "An Exorcist academy and training ground hidden from the general public. We train people capable of manipulating Reiki[1]. Those who can skillfully wield it become Exorcists[2]. We fight supernatural threats and make sure the balance between the human world and the supernatural is kept in order."
"You guys must have forgotten to give me my script, huh? Because I'm not going to act like that sentence made any sense." Daiki spoke with a snide tone. "Wait, so what was that thing I punched...?" Daiki muttered, trying to sit up.
"Yurei," she spoke firmly, placing her hand on his shoulder and pushing him gently back down. "Corrupted spirits born from the worst parts of people. Regret. Anger. Despair. When it festers for too long, it takes shape."
"So ghosts....?" he asked.
"Not exactly," she replied. "Ghosts haunt. Yurei prefer hunting."
Daiki looked down at his bruised hands, beginning to remember pieces of what had happened that night. "So what I fought last night was a Yurei...?"
"Precisely. Most Yurei are strong enough to kill a normal person. But somehow, you survived, and even beat it."
He let that settle in for a bit before asking another question. "So I'm not having a dream...? I'm not on reality TV?"
"Nope. This is all real."
"How did you guys even find me?"
"A group of third years on a field mission found your unconscious body and a girl. She apparently said your hands were glowing and you beat the Yurei senseless."
Daiki blinked. "She's okay, right? The girl?"
Midori gave a small nod. "Shaken, but no injuries. She was still conscious when you two were found."
He let out a quiet sigh of relief and leaned back, staring up at the lanterns. His hands still throbbed, his knuckles marked in bruises. Even though the pain dulled, his memory hadn't. His fists slamming into the Yurei, over and over, the blue glow that burned around his body, the constant motion, the desperation—
NONE of that was normal.
"What the hell even happened to me?" he asked.
"You awakened something," Midori said simply. "That exists in very few people. A Ketsugojin."
"Ketsu-what now?"
"Ketsugojin," she repeated, more carefully this time. "Think of it as your own unique ability. No two people have the same one. It's rooted in who you are, how you express yourself, and what drives you."
Daiki frowned.
"No, that doesn't make any sense. People don't just wake up with powers because they had a bad night."
"Most people awaken theirs young," Midori said. "But not everyone. Sometimes it happens later."
Her gaze lingered on him.
"You're what we like to call a Late Bloomer."
Daiki looked skeptical. "Late Bloomer...?"
Midori cracked a little smile. "Adolescence, adulthood, and even in old age."
He stared down at his bruised knuckles. "So Ketsugojin are like special moves, and I got mine late? Do I just hit really hard with mine?"
Midori's gaze lowered to his bruised knuckles.
"That's... one way to describe it,"
That told him everything Daiki needed to know.
She didn't fully understand it either.
"Okay... but how? How can I do any of this stuff? I'm a normal guy. I live in a two-bedroom with a broken heater and an old vending machine outside."
Midori was quiet for a moment.
"Being 'normal' doesn't disqualify you," she said. "Reiki doesn't care about where you came from. Some things stay hidden until the exact moment they're needed."
Daiki wasn't sure if that was supposed to make him feel better or worse.
Suddenly, the door opened with a sharp slide. A towering man stepped in, stern face, short dark hair streaked with gray, and a long black coat that brushed the floor behind him. He looked like the type of guy who hadn't smiled since World War 2.
"I'm Instructor Ito," he said.
"...Cool. That's not intimidating at all."
Ito ignored the comment. "You're under indefinite observation by the Shinyo Institute. You'll be housed and assessed here until further notice."
Daiki's stomach dropped. "What?"
"You're a Late Bloomer who just unlocked his Ketsugojin," Ito replied. "You are unpredictable, untrained, and incapable of controlling the Reiki now flowing through you. As long as you exist outside, you're a danger to yourself and everyone around you."
Those words hurt hard.
"So I'm being forced to stay here? I can't go home?"
Ito stepped closer. "You're here because if you weren't, you'd already be dead. The moment you awakened, every Yurei in range felt it. If our students hadn't reached you first, they would've found your body instead."
Midori added gently, "He's not lying. You would've never made it back home in one piece."
Silence fell.
Daiki sat there, staring at the blanket over his legs.
The orphanage.
Junpei reminding him to do his homework.
Emi and the kids yelling down the hallway.
The broken heater rattling through cold nights.
Room 204.
It already felt far away. Like some other version of his life. The last normal one.
"I didn't ask for any of this," he muttered.
"We know," Midori said quietly.
Ito stepped back. "Now that you're healed, you'll be moved to the dormitories before sunset. Orientation starts tomorrow. Don't do anything that you'll regret later."
He paused at the doorway. "Don't mistake this place for a safe haven," he said. "You lit a signal flare the second you awakened, whether you meant to or not. This is going to be your new life now. So learn fast. Next time, no one's gonna be around to drag you off the pavement."
Then he left, Midori following after him as the door slid shut.
Daiki lay there in silence, the weight of everything crashing down all over again.
Yurei.
Ketsugojin.
The girl.
And the flaming desperation that moved him forward.
He didn't ask for it. Didn't want or need it.
But it found him anyway.
[1] Reiki is the life-energy produced by all living beings. It is directly tied to stamina, vitality, and one's soul. As such, it is important for the survival of all living beings.
[2] An Exorcist is an individual with the abilities and training to combat Yurei and other supernatural threats.