A New Vein

"Alright," Takeshi said as he turned from Nox, "let's get you your guild mark."

"Wait," Nox said surprised, "I did it? I'm in?"

"Yep," Takeshi answered as he began to walk away, "You're a hero now. Good job kid."

Nox blinked in confusion as her brain tried to comprehend what just happened.

"You're supposed to be happy," Hitsu said as he pulled himself up from the floor.

Those words seemed to clear Nox's confusion as she grabbed onto Hitsu's hands excitedly.

"I did it!" Nox said excitedly as she jumped up and down, "I did it Hitsu! I'm In!"

"Good job," Hitsu congratulated, his smile showed that he shared Nox's joy.

"What do we do no..." Nox started to ask Takeshi but as she turned her head she saw he was gone. "Where did he go?"

"Uh... I don't know," Hitsu answered.

It was then Nox realized the two were still holding hands. Embarrassed, Nox pulled her hands away and placed them behind her back.

"Well we should probably find him," Nox said quickly.

"Yeah, you're right," Hitsu responded awkwardly.

Hitsu made his way deeper into the room and Nox followed closely after. Juno leaped down from the windowsill to go with the pair. They ventured towards the doorway on the left side of the room. Once they reached it Nox peaked around the doorframe into the room. Couches, chairs, a giant television, and cabinets filled what appeared to be a lounge area. In the room was the missing Takeshi, he rummaged through a drawer on one of the cabinets.

"There it is," Takeshi said to himself as he pulled a small wooden object out of the drawer. Without looking up to the two, Takeshi started walking towards the dining area. Seeing the giant headmaster approaching, Hitsu quickly backed away from the doorframe and Nox quickly followed suit. Moments later Takeshi emerged from the lounge, he clearly knew the two were watching but didn't seem to care. The headmaster turned to Nox, the object in hand.

"Alright kid," he said gruffly, "you ready?"

"Yes sir," Nox said nervously.

Takeshi pointed towards the chair at the head of the table. "Go stand over there."

Nox listened and quickly walked to the chair. As she approached she noticed the wall behind the chair had a special decoration. On the wall hung a golden plaque with writing engraved into it. As Nox studied the plaque she noticed that Hitsu was behind her in the process of spinning the chair around to face the wall.

"Sit down," Takeshi said as he retrieved one of the bottles from around his waist.

Nox complied and sat in the chair facing the plaque.

"Where do you want your guild mark?" Hitsu asked from her side.

Nox was expecting this question and had an answer ready. "On my shoulder," she answered as he rolled up the sleeve over her left arm.

"Alright," Takeshi said after he took a swig from the bottle, "let's do this."

"It's been a while hasn't it?" Hitsu asked.

"It sure had been," Takeshi responded as he brushed the dust off of the object.

Nox could now make out the wooden object as a round, rubber stamp. Takeshi lifted the open bottled and poured a small amount of its contents on the stamp. Nox watched with amazement as the mark on the stamp began to glow a bright yellow.

"Nox," Takeshi said breaking her from her trance, "read the plaque before you."

Nox took a deep breath as she turned back to the wall. After a moment she began reciting the words on the golden plaque.

"Fight..." she said

"For the future, for your friends, and for yourself," Hitsu said.

Nox looked to him and saw that he was also focused on the plaque. She figured this must be apart of some custom for new members. Nox turned back to the plaque and continued.

"Forge..." Nox continued.

"The future and your own path forward," Hitsu announced.

"Forgive..." Nox read.

"The past mistakes of your friends, your enemies, and yourself," Hitsu said proudly.

"...But never forget." Nox finished as she felt the stamp being pressed firmly against her shoulder.

"What makes you who you are... A Hero." Hitsu finished.

After a moment of silence, Takeshi pulled the stamp away from Nox's shoulder. Nox looked down at the glowing symbol that now decorated her shoulder. It continued to glow for several seconds before it dimmed and became a solid black. The symbol consisted of a circle, inside was a compilation of veins that made up a human body, in one hand it held an F and in the other a V, this was the symbol of the Future Veins.

"Alright Nox," Takeshi said, "You are now officially a member of the Future Veins."

...

After only a few minutes the festivities ended and the three other members acted as though Nox had always been apart of the guild. Takeshi sat in the headmaster chair at the end of the grand table reading a newspaper. Hitsu sat in a chair playing with Juno. He used the light from his neon to create a reflection that Juno tried her best to catch. Nox stood awkwardly nearby, unsure of what she should do.

"Hitsu," Takeshi eventually said, "I have your job report for your last mission."

"Job report?" Nox asked.

"Pretty much it's the thing that distinguishes heroes from other shadow slayers," Hitsu explained. "Heroes make their living by doing jobs that civilians send in. That's the main reason a lot of people laugh at heroes. Since we help people with some smaller and less dangerous jobs some of them think they are better than us."

"That's not right," Nox said angrily, "you did all sorts of dangerous stuff to help me and my family."

"Yeah," Hitsu sighed, "but the misconception is already out there, people think heroes are just attention seekers."

"Hey Hitsu," Takeshi interrupted, "can you come here for a second."

"What's up?' Hitsu asked as he made his way to Takeshi's side. In Takeshi's hands was a piece of paper that he read intently. Nox watched as Takeshi removed a single hand from the paper to bring it down across Hitsu's skull. Hitsu fell to the floor with a thud as he cried out in pain.

"What was that for?" Hitsu said in a pained, high-pitch voice.

"You took way to long on this job," Takeshi said calmly, "I know you work quicker than this."

"Yeah but I had to stay longer for Nox," Hitsu said from the floor.

Takeshi stopped and looked up to the ceiling as he thought. "Oh yeah, my bad." He apologized. Takeshi took a swig from one of his bottles as Hitsu used the table to pull himself up. "You get a free hit on me."

"Really?" Hitsu said excitedly.

"Yep, go crazy," Takeshi responded.

Instantly, Hitsu entire right arm became engulfed with bright pink neon.

"Isn't that going a little too far?" Nox asked worriedly.

Hitsu didn't seem to listen as his smile grew wider.

"TAKE THIS!" He yelled as he threw his fist towards Takeshi's face. The headmaster didn't bother to react to the fist flying towards him as he continued to read the report.

THUD

The sound of a fist hitting metal rang out and neither of the men moved. After a moment Hitsu grabbed his fist in pain.

"Damn it that hurts!" He shouted as he held his hand.

"Don't swear in here," Takeshi said calmly as he chopped Hitsu once again. Hitsu fell to the floor defeated.

Nox stood dumbfounded at what she just saw.

"Impressive right?" Hitsu said weakly from the floor. "That's master's power," he explained, "he calls it One of The Drunks. The more hammered he gets the stronger both his attack and defense get. Also, his alcohol tolerance is crazy which is good for him considering he's an alcoholic."

Takeshi looked as though he was about to chop Hitsu once again but he stopped suddenly. He looked at the bottle on the table which must have been at least his fourth in the short time since he arrived. After a moment he shrugged and continued reading.

"You aren't wrong," was all he said.

"Sorry Nox," Hitsu apologized, "It's a little wild here... But it's home." Hitsu said those last words with a huge smile.

Nox couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

"Don't apologize," she said, "I think it's perfect."

Nox could see the corners of Takeshi's mouth curve up for just a moment before his face returned to its usual blank slate.

"I can get used to this," Nox said, "after all...

"...It's home."

...

"Fight, Forge, Forgive...

...But Never Forget."

-Future Veins

...

End of Episode 22