Toma pressed his forehead just short of the glass, his eyes wide as the car glided between high rise towers, layered with glowing kanji and banners. Elevated roads braided overhead.
"This… this is insane, Mr. Hosho," Toma said with a breathless laugh.
"You look as though you have entered another country," Hosho commented, his eyes remaining on the road.
"It feels like it. I didn't know Aokabe even had places like this."
Pedestrians crossed walkways below, well-dressed and unhurried with phones glowing in their hands. Aokabe's City Hall rose in the distance with all its sharp angles and light. Though, that wasn't the only monument of the city.
"So," he said as he tore his gaze away with much effort, "what exactly am I doing first?"
Mr. Hosho nodded as if pleased by the question. "Before the G.M.A. can consider you valuable… you must be evaluated."
"Always a catch…" Toma muttered.
Mr. Hosho smiled faintly, the car slowing at a long light. Mr. Hosho continued calmly. "You will undergo what we simply call the Initiation Exam."
"As in… like, a written exam?"
"No."
"Oh… is it something physical?"
"Partially. The exam is not designed to test strength alone. Nor obedience. It measures adaptability and resolve. The capacity to face the unseen without breaking like many others."
The light turned green and the car moved again.
"If you pass, you shall be inducted formally. Training then follows. Then classification. Then purpose."
"And… if I don't?"
Mr. Hosho did not answer right away, but when he did, his voice was still gentle.
"Then you shall walk away unharmed, with compensation for your time and the knowledge that you looked into the dark and chose to step back."
Toma nodded slowly, his excitement threading now with nerves. Then… he noticed it. Off the shore, rising from a man-made platform like a blade driven straight into the bay, stood the Maestro Cultivation Academy. It was a massive, angular building illuminated by stark white floodlights that cut clean lines against the gray sky. It rose asymmetrically as if daring the sea itself to challenge it and massive banners bearing the G.M.A. insignia hung from its sides.
Toma's excitement slowly overcame nerves.
"That's… that's the Academy, right?" He asked. His voice was almost reverent.
"Indeed. It's where our Maestros are trained. And where they live."
"Live there?" he repeated with disbelief.
"Indeed. The Academy contains multiple residential towers. Dormitories, communal halls, training wings… Much like a university, though considerably less forgiving."
Toma let out a low whistle, twisting in his seat to keep the Academy in view as long as he could. "So they don't just, like… clock out and go home?"
"That's…" he searched for the word, then grinned. "That's kinda awesome… very awesome, actually."
The idea hit him all at once: a room that he could call his own, food that wasn't counted to the last packet, and people his age training towards something larger than survival. It felt… surreal. As if peeking into someone else's life through a window.
His excitement bubbled over and he glanced at Hosho. "Did you go there?"
Mr. Hosho shook his head.
"I did not," he said. "I never applied to become an Exorcist."
Mr. Hosho shook his head. "I never applied to become a Maestro."
Toma's smile faded and he cocked a brow. "Wait, what? Why the hell not?"
"I was never interested."
"Then how the hell did you end up working with the G.M.A. in the first place?" Toma asked, staring at him.
"There are many ways to serve an organization, Mr. Del Cid. Not all of them involve combat."
Toma leaned back in his seat with a scoff. "So you're not a Maestro… definitely not a desk clerk either. You're… what, some kinda handler?"
"A liaison. Among other things."
The car continued deeper into Karasuma, traffic thinning as they eventually arrived at G.M.A. HQ. It dominated the district like a monolith. It wasn't flashy like the commercial towers, nor as theatrical as the Academy, but it was severe. It was an angular complex of stone, steel, and glass where poles waving the country's flag.
Toma stared. "…Okay. Yeah. That's definitely government."
Mr. Hosho guided the car into a secure lane that branched off from the main road, barriers lifting as they approached. Once they reached a covered entryway, he cut the engine.
Toma gulped, suddenly aware of his… unprofessional attire. And the fact that he still smelled like salted water and fish guts.
"So," he said, "is this where I apply?"
Mr. Hosho gave a small, almost ceremonial nod as they entered. The doors sealed them behind, cutting off the city entirely.
The interior of the G.M.A. headquarters was… busy, to say the least. Wide atriums stretched upward several floors, crisscrossed by suspended walkways and glass elevators sliding up and down. Some of the personnel wore clean-cut administrative uniforms with tablets in their hands while others were unmistakable even at a glance.
They wore long coats with reinforced boots and carried charm-etched gear with the same familiarity Toma once carried with a mop.
Maestros.
Some of them bore scars while others looked barely older than Toma. His neck was craning as he took everything in and it felt like he was standing too close to a storm.
I… I don't belong here… his brain screamed at him.
"Eyes forward," Hosho whispered. "First impressions can be distracting."
"Yeah," Toma muttered. "That's one way to put it."
They then approached a central desk beneath a hovering G.M.A. emblem. The woman behind it looked up and immediately straightened her posture.
"Mr. Hosho! We… we weren't informed you'd be coming in tonight," she said, excitement giving in to professionalism.
"Circumstances… accelerate," Mr. Hosho replied. "I am here for an intake."
Her gaze then shifted to Toma. It lingered longer than necessary.
"Ah, I see," she said, her fingers moving quickly across a console. "Initiation track?"
Hosho nodded.
She nodded in response before looking to Toma. "Name?"
"Toma," he said, quicker than intended.
Then, after a moment, "uhm… Del Cid. T-Toma Del Cid."
"Understood…" she said, her tone more careful now for whatever reason. "Well, Mr. Del Cid, you'll want to head to Wing C. Elevator six. It shall take you to the Application Hall. Follow the blue indicators and do not deviate from the path."
Toma immediately nodded. "Right, ma'am. Uhm, thanks!"
The woman inclined her head, to which he and Hosho returned the gesture and stepped away from the desk.
"Good luck," she said to Toma.
Encouraging… Toma thought sarcastically.
They followed the path as instructed, but of course, his curiosity got the better of him.
"Hey, so… Quick question," Toma asked as the elevator doors came into view.
Mr. Hosho slowed and turned to him. "Yes?"
"The… upfront payment you mentioned," Toma said. "when exactly does that happen? I just– I kinda need to know that I'm not screwing myself over here."
"A fair concern," Hosho said with an unbothered smile. "You will be compensated once you pass the Initiation Exam. Immediately thereafter."
"And… if I don't?" he asked with a frown.
"Then, as I promised earlier, you leave with your safety intact and no further obligation."
Toma let out a shaky exhaled. "Alright, that's… that's fair."
"This is where we part, Mr. Del Cid," Hosho said, stepping back.
"Wait, what? Now?" he asked with a raised brow.
"For now," Hosho corrected. "From here on, you walk alone."
"But… I thought you'd help," he replied, hesitating at the threshold.
"I have and I will continue to do so," Hosho replied before pausing. "I will be watching you."
Something unsettling stirred in his gut.
"I see…" Toma replied.
For a second, he felt that familiar prickle. The sense of being seen too clearly. But another feeling rose up and drowned it out.
Fear.
And beneath it was excitement.
Gil…
The word echoed in his head. He could envision leaving the docks… leaving Minazuki. Standing shoulder to shoulder with people of significance while fighting the things that haunted Aokabe's dark corners.
"Right," he said. "I… guess I'll see you on the other side."
Toma then stepped into the elevator, the doors sealing him inside. As the lift began its descent toward the Application Hall, towards the real first test of his life, fear and exhilaration twisted together so tightly he couldn't make out where one ended and began.
Then… the elevator shuddered. At first, it was a small tremor beneath Toma, the lights along the walls flickering once before steadying.
"Okay… this is normal… completely normal…" Toma repeated to himself like a mantra.
But another tremor came, this time harder. The lights dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed again followed by a low groan rolled through the cabin as metal protested under stress. Toma grabbed the nearby railing on instinct, his heart kicking hard in his chest.
"No, no, no, no!"
The floor lurched before the elevator dropped at an extreme speed. He let out a scream as his stomach felt like it shot up into his throat, the sensation ripping the oxygen from his lungs. Lights blew out and plunged the cabin into utter darkness, lit only by emergency strips flashing red.
WARNING. WARNING. SYSTEM FAILURE.
The automated voice stuttered and distorted as it overlapped itself. Toma slammed into the wall, teeth clacking as gravity betrayed him and came back roaring in violent pulses. His hands clawed at the railing for purchase, his fingers slipping as the elevator rattled like it was about to tear apart.
"OH GOD! OH GOD, OH GOD, OH GOD!!!"
Numbers on the display above the door blurred as they raced past levels faster than his eyes could process.
C5
C7
C10
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!" Toma shouted, his voice immediately swallowed by rushing air and shrieking metal. The emergency lights flickered and went out, leaving him in complete darkness.
Then, the elevator came to a sudden stop. It slammed with a bone-rattling impact that sent Toma crashing flat against the floor, breath shooting out of him in a broken, ragged gasp.
He laid there with his heaving chest, his limbs trembling, and the taste of blood on his tongue.
How… how am I…
His thoughts were silenced by the aching whine made by the doors that split apart. A thin line of light spilled into the cabin before widening.
Standing on the other side was… a thing? It was short, barely up to Toma's chest, with a wide squat body wrapped in a neatly tailored charcoal suit. Its skin was a mottled green and brown and appeared slick under the fluorescent lights. But what was even weirder… was its broad toad's head that sat atop its shoulders. It's bulbous eyes blinked slowly before it's mouth curled into an almost cheerful smile.
In its webbed hand was a clipboard.
"Ah, there you are!" it greeted pleasantly.
Toma screamed before scrambling backwards on instinct, slamming into the elevator wall. His hands flailed for purchase, but missed the now-crooked railing. His heart tried to claw its way out of his chest.
"WHAT THE– WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
The thing blinked with surprise before it bowed its head carefully while adjusting its tie.
"Oh dear, please forgive me… Toma Del Cid, you are hereby acknowledged as Candidate Forty-Eight. We, the Global Maestro Association, welcome you to the Initiation Phase!"
"C-Candidate?" he repeated before shaking his head and pointing at the creature with a shaking finger. "Y-You're… you're a spirit! I've seen you guys on the news! Y-You're not supposed to…"
The toad-headed abomination winced sympathetically.
"Yes, yes, your fear is understandable. I often forget how… alarming my appearance can be to first-timers. But I assure you that I mean no harm. I am a contracted administrative entity under G.M.A. supervision!" it said with a proud smile.
"Examination proctor, actually."
Toma stared at it for a long moment, his chest heaving from everything going on.
"A what?"
"Proctor!" the spirit repeated. "I oversee procedural integrity and candidate flow!"
Toma let out a sharp, hysterical laugh. "You almost killed me! T-The elevator–"
"Ah, yes… that," the toad spirit said before nodding and tapping it's clipboard. "The descent was intentional, Mr. Del Cid."
"Intentional…?" Toma asked, his face going pale.
"Why, yes! Sudden loss of control followed by perceived mortal danger is a fantastic way to establish baseline stress response. You, sir, performed… adequately."
Toma buried his hands in his hair, feeling a great amount of regret already.
"This is insane, this is actually insane," he whispered to himself. "I just wanted to get paid not… all this!"
The spirit waddled over to him, its smile still gentle.
"Again, my sincerest apologies for the fright. But please understand that by stepping into that elevator, you agreed to be tested."
It then gestured politely to the open doors, beyond which a long, dimly lit corridor stretched far away.
"If you would be so kind," the spirit said, "the Initiation Exam awaits."
Toma stared ahead before looking down at the spirit. His hands were still shaking and somewhere deep inside, fear screamed at him to run away. But another part, the one that was a quiet stubborn, forced its grip.
"Alright…" he said shakily.
"Excellent! Right this way, Candidate Forty-Eight."