Bounty Hunt

Takami crept into his house, carefully pushing the door open. The moment he stepped in, the living room lights flicked on.

He froze.

His mother stood near the kitchen, arms crossed, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Where have you been?" she asked, voice calm but firm. "You said you wouldn't be long, but you missed dinner."

Takami hesitated, gripping the book in his hand. He exhaled.

"I went on a mission," he finally admitted, breaking the silence. Then, as if reassuring himself more than her, he added, "I've gotten stronger."

His mother tilted her head slightly. "Stronger?" She didn't know much about Grant levels or spirits, so she took his words at face value.

A small smile formed on her lips. "I'm glad you're finally getting a hang of life."

"Uh... yeah" Takami nodded, not bothering to correct her. "I'm not hungry," he muttered before heading to his room.

Once inside, he locked the door and sat on his bed, flipping open the old book. The title was almost completely faded but still clear enough:

"The Vessels of Power: Avatars and The 12 Seats."

Most of it was filled with history, legends, and theories, things he already suspected. But then, something caught his eye.

"An Avatar does not choose the spirit. The spirit chooses the Avatar."

His eyes narrowed as he read further.

•If the Avatar cannot control the spirit, they will be devoured, and their body will fully belong to the spirit.

•The true full power of the 12 Seats will only be unleashed when the Life Scale fully shatters, as it is what keeps their power trapped in the Nagari Fortress, the land where the 12 Seats dwell.

•The main reason the 12 Seats seek Avatars is because they have been banished from entering Exios by The One. They can only enter through human form, as humans were the only beings apart from spirits who could access Exios.

The Missing Seat—

Takami's eyes widened. But before he could read more, his breath hitched.

The final page had been torn out.

"What's Exios, and this torn page?" He sighed "Can't anything go right in this world?" He said, frustrated he lay back on the bed before dozing off.

The next morning, Takami headed to their usual hangout, Yuri's cabin.

As soon as he walked in, Yuri was already staring at him with crossed arms.

"Would you mind explaining what the hell is happening?" she demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Takami asked, confused.

Jimin silently handed him a piece of paper.

Takami's eyes widened. A bounty notice.

Target: Takami Ryusei

Status: Wanted Alive

Bounty: 50,000 yen

"What did you do?" Yuri pressed, her tone sharp.

Takami stared at the crude sketch of his face. "How is this even possible?"

"It's all over the Sub-Market," Jimin explained. "Seems like you messed with something real serious. Good thing the outside world doesn't know much... yet. The one who set the bounty is just a middleman. The real source? Still unknown."

Takami's jaw clenched. "It's Shurin Guild."

Jimin raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"They sent an assassin after me last night," Takami explained. "He had a spirit with him. He tried to kill me."

"Why would they want you alive and then try to kill you? Doesn't make any sense to me." Jimin said

"I don't know", Takami replied

Yuri scoffed. "And here I was thinking you'd tell us something that wasn't insane."

She exhaled, crossing her arms again. "You know… we barely spend time together anymore. Feels like you've abandoned us for the syst—"

Takami cut her off before she could finish.

"Hey, hey, hey. I'd never abandon you guys. You're my best friends. I wouldn't have made it this far without you guys."

Yuri held his gaze for a moment before scoffing. "Okay then."

Jimin, watching the two bicker, finally sighed. "Done with the emotional part?, So…"

Takami filled them in on everything, his encounter with the assassin, the book's revelations, and the Avatar he faced who was already a vessel.

Then, Jimin made a connection.

"Wait… If what you're saying is right, then this Avatar you came across… sounds like the same person who made a mess at Shurin Guild headquarters the other day."

Takami added. "Yeah heard of it too."

The three of them exchanged glances.

"That means…" Yuri trailed off.

"That means the Avatar I crossed paths with was... Nyx," Takami finished.

At Rei Hanekawa's office, an intelligence officer stepped in. Before he could speak, Rei, still seated with his back facing him, spoke first.

"He's still alive, I suppose?"

The officer hesitated before answering. "Yes, sir."

"Iruka?" Rei added.

"He came back barely walking. His spirit was … killed." the officer explained 

Rei exhaled slowly, then finally turned his chair around. A faint smile played on his lips.

"No worries," he said casually. "I've already had Kurogane place a bounty on him."

The officer stiffened. "What do we do now, sir?"

Rei leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlocked.

"Iruka must've noticed something before his failure," he mused. "Bring him in."

His smile widened.

"I'd like to have a chat. I want this done before the president comes back."

Later that evening, Takami, Yuri, and Jimin decided to head home and each come up with a plan to deal with the bounty.

But just as they stepped outside, three figures blocked their path, two men and a woman. They looked barely healthy, clothes ragged, eyes sunken.

Yuri sighed, rubbing her temples. "Really? Bums are the ones hunting you now?"

One of the men lunged forward.

Yuri didn't even hesitate she flicked her wrist, and a powerful gust of wind sent them flying backward.

Jimin chuckled. "You could've at least let them get close."

Yuri rolled her eyes. "Not in the mood."

They soon went their separate ways.

As Jimin walked down the street, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ah, sorry," he said, steadying the person before they could fall.

The girl looked up at him. She wore a dark green hoodie and sweatpants.

She hesitated before speaking. "Uh… do you know where I can find a flower shop?"

Jimin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, just down that street to the right." He studied her for a moment. "You new here?"

"Yes, just had some business that's gonna take a while," she said quickly. "Thank you."

Jimin nodded. "No problem."

She started to walk away but suddenly turned back.

"Wait… What's your name?"

He blinked. "Jimin. Park Jimin."

"You Korean?" she asked.

Jimin replied. "Yeah."

She smirked. "So, like, cousins with one of the BTS members?"

Jimin chuckled. "No."

She laughed. "Just messing with you. Well, I'm Mayonaka Kurozuki. But you can call me Yona."

She extended her hand. Jimin shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Yona."

She smiled before turning away. "See you around."

Jimin watched her leave. "…That was strange."

As Yona walked down the street, a voice only she could hear spoke. It was Nyx.

"Do you like him?"

Yona's face turned red. "No."

Nyx continued. "Are you sure? You've been smiling ever since he helped you."

"I have?" Yona's smile instantly disappeared.

"You're also daydreaming, and you just walked past the turn."

Yona blinked. "Eh?" She suddenly realized she was standing in the middle of the road.

Later, as she exited a flower shop, she sighed. "I don't know why you're mad they didn't have black flowers."

Nyx scoffed. "Humans have no taste."

"Pfft, says the one who likes nothing other than dark themed things, well that's taste" Yona muttered.

 "Sometimes I wonder why exactly you're even the avatar I'm compatible with?" Nyx sighed.

"Excuse me?" Yona exclaimed 

Nyx ignored her. "The real reason we're still here… is to figure out what Takami Ryusei truly is."

Yona smirked. "Well I got the information you wanted from my Intel at the evaluation center," she pulled out her phone "Say's here his evaluation results proved him a Low Grant level user, a Rank-3 to be precise, weakest... But we both know that the grant level he emitted the other day was that of a high grant level user, a weak one but it was no where near low grant."

"Well then… Let's see how interesting this gets." Nyx chuckled.

-CHAPTER 9: SHADOW OVER ME-

END OF CHAPTER NOTES ✍️:

1. What is the 2001 Great charge?,

The 2001 Great Charge

The first colossal spirit attack since the breaking of the Life Scale.

Three Great Spirits led an army of 50,000 spirits, low-class, high-class, and high-class 2. As the battle raged, their numbers doubled to 100,000. Some claim a Seated Spirit was behind it.

Cities burned. Thousands died. Humanity was on the brink.

But they fought back. Guilds, spirit keepers, warriors, they pushed until the spirits fell.

The charge ended in victory.

But the scars never faded.

And the question remains, was this just the beginning?

Question Section now open - Got a question? Ask away in the comments (questions will be answered in next chapter's end of chapter note)

NOTE: Some questions may not be answered due to revelation terms in the story. Thank you.