Peace? If Only It Stayed

At the Phang headquarters, the captain was in the middle of giving his oral report, documenting every little detail of the mission, when he reached the part about Takami. His voice hesitated as he was about to speak. But the moment he glanced up, his eyes met Hanae's, who was seated just across from him. She subtly shook her head, just enough for the captain to notice, but not enough to be caught by anyone else in the room. It was a quiet signal. Don't speak about it just yet.

He understood. Without anyone noticing, he smoothly skipped over that part, continuing his report as if nothing had happened. The person recording the report didn't notice the slight pause. They were too focused on the details to catch the unspoken communication that just took place.

Meanwhile, Takami was back at home, lying on his bed, trying to process everything that had been going on. He had barely any time to catch his breath before his mind wandered to one subject that had been weighing heavily on him, his evolution. He knew that it was only a matter of time before everyone realizes his change. He wasn't really sure how to handle the attention, but one thing was sure, he had to hold on to it as a secret for as long as he could.

Before he could dwell on it for too long, the sound of familiar voices broke through his thoughts.

"Yuri? Jimin?" Takami stood up, walked out of his room, and into the living room, eyes narrowing with curiosity. He hadn't expected them to show up.

"What brings you guys here?" He raised an eyebrow in their direction, a playful smirk tugging at his lips.

"Your mom invited us for dinner yesterday but we were occupied so we told her we'd be here today," Yuri replied with her usual grin, as casual as ever.

"Yuri! Jimin!" Tomoe came running into the room, throwing her arms around the two of them with the excitement only a little kid could muster.

"Hey there, cutie," Yuri responded, squatting down to Tomoe's height, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Guess what I got you!" Jimin said, his grin widening.

"What?" Tomoe asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Close your eyes first," Jimin instructed. Tomoe quickly obeyed. When she opened them, she gasped with delight at the candy in his hand.

"Thank you!" Tomoe's face lit up as she eagerly took the candy from his hands.

"And you're gonna keep that for tomorrow Tomoe, remember no candies at night," Takami said

"Hmmm, ok" Tomoe replied, running off to her mom in the kitchen, "Mom look what they got me!"

"Anyways, where's Yosuke?" Jimin asked, glancing around the house.

"Probably in his room, playing video games... I told that idiot to stop playing when it's night," Takami sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Seems he took the advantage of me not being home."

Takami walked toward Yosuke's room, throwing open the door without knocking. The lights were off, but Yosuke's gaming console was lit up, the screen casting a faint glow in the room. He was deeply immersed in whatever game he was playing, the controller in his hands moving furiously.

"Idiot," Takami muttered under his breath.

Yosuke looked up, surprised, and scrambled to explain himself. "Uh, I can explain. It's just—"

Before he could finish, Takami grabbed him by the ear, dragging him out of the room.

"Aw, aw, aw, aw!" Yosuke yelped, his voice muffled by the force of Takami's grip. "Ohh hey Yuri! Hey Jimin!"

"Get up," Takami said, but there was a smirk playing on his lips.

"There you are!" Jimin called out, chuckling as he watched the scene unfold. "Here you go," he throws a candy bar to Yosuke

"Thanks!" Yosuke said

"Why don't you guys come to the dining room? Dinner's ready," Takami's mom called out from the kitchen.

The dinner table was filled with lively chatter as Takami's mom asked about the kinds of missions that Yuri, Jimin and Takami typically went on. Jimin briefly recounted a mission he'd been on involving a dangerous rogue spirit that they barely managed to defeat, and Yuri kept the conversation light, teasing Tomoe and telling funny stories.

"So, did you actually catch that spirit on your last mission, or was that just another one of those 'almost got it but didn't' situations?" Takami asked Yuri, a playful glint in his eye.

Yuri rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly unfazed by his teasing. "You act like we're amateurs, Takami. We got the job done. No problem." She winked, showing that her confidence was her trademark.

"Lies," Takami used a cough to disguise what he said

Tomoe, ever the curious one, jumped into the conversation. "What kind of spirit did you catch?"

"Oh, just a little raven spirit," Yuri answered, shrugging. "Nothing too exciting, but it was good practice for Jimin here, since his aim was a little off."

"Says the person who missed the first shot!" Jimin chuckled, nudging Yuri with his elbow.

"I wasn't aiming for it, that's why," Yuri explained with a chuckle.

Dinner continued with more jokes, laughter, and even some imagination stories from Tomoe about her day at school.

Takami's mom smiled, looking at her kids, thankful for the warmth in their home.

A little later, after the dinner plates were cleared, Yuri and Jimin found themselves in Takami's room. Jimin leaned against the wall, arms folded, while Yuri took a seat in the chair by the desk. There was a certain heaviness to the air now, a shift in the conversation as the real topic was about to come up.

"Okay, your bounty was removed two days after your sudden disappearance, and from what we know, someone did it, but we don't know who. We've got no leads," Jimin began, his tone serious.

"If your Shurin guild suspicion is right, then this has to be a high-level guild cover-up," Yuri added, glancing over at Takami.

"Alright," Takami said, leaning back against the bed frame with his hand on his chin. His mind was already starting to race. "That's... weird. Someone removed it for a reason." He stared out the window, the calm night contrasting with the storm of thoughts running through his head.

"Oh, and I didn't tell you this one, Jimin," Yuri continued, leaning forward. "I overheard the vice guild master saying something about a low grant-level human going head-to-head with high-class spirits and winning. Guess who that sounds like?"

"I wonder who that is," Jimin glanced at Takami, who had no choice but to meet their gazes.

Takami blinked. "Eh? Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Jimin said, nodding. "It's probably some guy who's sitting on his bed right now while his friends talk sense into him."

"You're not speaking sense into me!" Takami said

"Never said it was you though, that's some guilt there," Jimin looks away smiling.

"What tha—" Takami sighs smiling

Yuri added, her voice quieter now, "It's a good thing you're trying to get stronger, but you're starting to attract too much attention, and it's not the good kind."

Takami sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. "I'm not sure what to think anymore."

Jimin looked at him seriously. "You need to decide, Takami. Keep this a secret and avoid unnecessary problems, or continue your 'spirit-killing spree' and put yourself in more dangerous situations. What's it going to be?"

Takami scratched the back of his head, feeling the weight of their words. "I... I don't know. I'm not thinking straight right now."

Yuri, her voice dripping with sarcasm, muttered, "Do you ever think straight?"

Takami, without missing a beat, grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. Yuri caught it, chuckling as she tossed it back. Jimin burst into laughter at their antics.

The room fell into a more relaxed atmosphere after that. It was the kind of moment Takami needed to clear his mind. But then, just as quickly, the mood shifted again.

Yuri's phone buzzed, and she let out an exaggerated breath. "Probably my dad." She glanced at Jimin, "Alright, you going now, or are you sticking around for a while?"

Jimin shrugged. "Might as well head out too."

Takami stood up, walking with them to the door. The familiar sense of tension that had been hanging in the air all evening was still there, though now it was coupled with a feeling of uncertainty about what would come next.

The Next Morning

Takami woke up early the next morning, his body automatically moving to his usual routine. He sat up straight, rubbing his eyes, when the familiar pop-up message appeared in front of him.

⟨Growth Imprint - Awakening Phase

• Current Status: High Grant level (green)⟩

⟨Player level: 23⟩

⟨Daily Quests:

• [Daily Growth Challenge]: Increase reaction time by 0.6 seconds (0/1).

• [Combat Adaptation]: Shadow box for 30 consecutive minutes (0/1).

• [Mind Stability]: Meditate for 20 minutes, four times, and note out differences between all four (0/4).⟩

"Mind stability? Player level? That's new," he muttered under his breath.

He closed the pop-up and opened up the main interface. The screen had changed, with his level now clearly displayed. His stats had expanded, no longer coded in numbers but in letter grades.

⟨Stats:

~Strength: C

~Agility: C+

~Stamina: C

~Intelligence: B

~Precision: B

~Spirit Resonance: E

~Durability: D

~Instincts: D⟩

A new notification popped up:

⟨Go through new system update?⟩

 ⟨Yes⟩ | ⟨Skip⟩

Takami tapped "Yes" and the guide appeared:

⟨New System Features:

1. Class Identification - Player can now see the ranking of weapons, spirits, and individuals, ranked from E to S, and Elite.

2. Level Indicator - System interface now displays the player's level.

3. Limit Break Quests: New quests to boost physical and mental stats are available to level up.⟩

Takami marveled at the changes, but before he could absorb it all, another system message popped up:

⟨Warning: Unstable Energy Detected…

Analyzing…

…

…

Error. Data Incomplete.⟩

It disappeared before he could even react. His jaw clenched. Something wasn't right.

At the gym

Takami went through his morning routine at the gym, the thud of punches against the sandbag filling the air. He worked up a sweat, the familiar focus of his training clearing his head. As he sat on the bench afterward, towel draped over his face, someone offered him a bottle of water. He looked up to find a girl, blue bangs, fit athletic build, and a confident air.

"You taking it or what?" she asked, holding out the bottle.

He took it. "Thank you," then looked back down.

"Finally," she said, sitting close to him.

"Huh?" He turned to her.

"Well, it's just that I met a guy who's not so focused on looking at my body like all the other freaks do," she said.

"Ouh, I see," he turned away.

"The name's Shion. You?"

"Takami."

"Nice." She cleared her throat. "You seem to have an athletic build, but uh... you exercise like a bodybuilder."

He remained silent.

"Did I sound weird already?" she wondered to herself.

"Well, that's how I exercise," he said, drinking the water.

"Ouh, okay, that's, uh... good." She sipped her water too

Then they both heard a group of guys, probably teenagers, arguing about who was Japan's strongest Spirit Keeper. Names flew like Tatsuya Shurin (the guild master of Shurin Guild), Sora Tenma (the guild master of Azure Dawn), Kaito Mizuno (the guild master of Phantom Order), Hideo Kanzaki, Michiko Aizawa, Shougo Matsuda, and Rei Hanekawa.

Shion scoffed. "Renji Takahara, idiots. They seem to have no clue… they probably just got evaluated or are preparing for one."

Takami glanced at them. "I guess so."

"No one knows why he's in a coma…well, no one except the higher-ups in the guilds."

"Yeah, it's been two years now."

"Yup... Rumor has it he went after something he shouldn't have." She sighed. "So you're a Spirit Slayer too. What guild are you with?"

Silence.

Before he spoke, he glanced back down. "None."

"What? What's your Grant level?"

"Low Grant," he said, looking down further.

"Huh?" She seemed shocked.

That wasn't something she was going to believe. With his body structure and the moves she'd seen earlier, even a low Grant Rank-3 with that kind of talent would've been recruited. "Okay then… um, I'll be taking my leave now. Bye, Takami."

She left.

"Was it because of my Grant level? So, low Grant users disgust them after all..." Takami thought to himself. He scoffed and then prepared to leave too.

Takami reached home, only to see a red car parked outside. He wondered who it was before going in and meeting Rei, sitting in the living room.

"Ouh, you're here," his mother said.

Rei turned to him. "Welcome, Takami Ryusei," he smiled.

…