THE MAN I NEVER KNEW

volume 1:The Prophecy

Chapter 6:The Man I Never Knew

After lunch, the trio parted ways for a short break before heading back to the shrine.

Far above the school courtyard, the principal's office was quiet.

Raiga stood in the hallway, eyes narrowed. Through the blurred glass of the office door, he spotted his father—Raizen—speaking with someone. A man in black. Tall, wrapped in dark clothes, face mostly hidden beneath a hood.

Raiga didn't recognize him.

He stepped silently to the side, back pressed against the cool wall just beside the doorframe. From here, the voices inside were just murmurs—low and unintelligible.

He waited.

Moments later, the door opened. The man stepped out, walking calmly past without even glancing sideways.

Raiga's eyes followed him coldly, memorizing the gait, the shape, the aura.

Then, once the man was gone, he entered.

Raizen was sitting calmly behind his desk, hands folded. His chair faced away, half-turned toward the window. He didn't look surprised to see his son.

"You're here," Raizen said, almost casually. "Something wrong?"

Raiga didn't answer right away. His tone, when it came, was unreadable. "Who was that man?"

Raizen turned slowly, resting his chin on his hand.

"Someone looking for a minor staff role. Said he had old records, experience with shrine energy, wanted to help. Probably just another drifter drawn to the school's reputation."

Raiga's eyes didn't blink. "You trust him?"

"I don't trust anyone," Raizen said, a faint smile forming. "Not fully. But people wander here often. The seal beneath this place has a strange pull. We've seen stranger things, haven't we?"

Raiga let the silence settle, then said simply, "Rei awakened."

Raizen's smile faded. "Already?"

Raiga gave a slight nod. "But not fully. His bracelet flared immediately, but… no magical form. Just raw energy. Then he collapsed. Said the scar burned."

The principal leaned forward slightly, fingers tapping the arm of his chair.

"And?"

"He said it wasn't a vision. It felt real. A girl… chained. She touched his scar. Called him a prophecy. Then he woke up in pain."

Raizen didn't speak for a moment.

Then, calmly, "So it's begun."

Raiga raised an eyebrow.

Raizen spun his chair slowly to face the window again. "If his soul signature is mixed… that might explain the bracelet's reaction. Magic responds to clarity, not chaos. Maybe it felt more than one source inside him."

Raiga stared. "That doesn't explain the pain."

"No," Raizen admitted. "It doesn't."

He paused, gaze lost in the clouds outside.

"But I know this—something is starting. I don't know what yet, but it feels familiar… too familiar."

He turned his chair back toward Raiga.

"I want you to keep your eye on him. Especially Rei. Something about him… it's not just bloodline. It's deeper."

But the room was empty.

Raiga was gone.

The door stood slightly ajar, still rocking faintly from his silent exit.

Raizen leaned back in his chair once more. His eyes lingered on the doorway where Raiga had disappeared. A sigh escaped him—long, tired, conflicted.

"You always show up when things start to turn…" he muttered to the silence.

A breeze stirred the curtains.

Far below, the seal pulsed again.

The sun hung lower now, its light stretching long shadows across the school path. Leaves rustled underfoot as Rei, Itsuki, and Yuki strolled back from the canteen, their steps slow, their energy still recovering from the soul-linking ritual.

"I swear," Itsuki groaned, arms behind his head, "that bracelet fried my brain harder than final exams."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "That's assuming you have a brain."

Rei didn't speak. He walked a little ahead, eyes locked forward, lost in thoughts heavier than lunchtime.

The silence between them cracked when a figure stepped into their path.

"Excuse me…"

A soft, calm voice. Male. Dressed in full black—hood up, face almost completely wrapped, only his eyes visible beneath the fabric. Pale. Almost glowing.

Rei stopped.

Those eyes…

"…Wait," he said slowly. "Didn't I meet you this morning?"

The man tilted his head. "No, I don't think so."

Yuki looked between them. "You know him?"

"I… thought so," Rei murmured.

The man's gaze shifted to Yuki. "Actually, I'm trying to find the eastern boundary street. Could you help me?"

Yuki blinked. "That's just two lanes down. After the big pine. You'll see an old signboard."

The man gave a polite nod. "Thank you."

He turned to leave, walking calmly past them.

But as his body moved away… His head didn't.

Those glowing red eyes stayed fixed on Rei—unmoving, watching him over the shoulder like a predator never breaking contact.

Rei froze.

His own eyes locked onto the stranger's—drawn in. His breath caught in his throat. There was something in those eyes. Not just the color.

A reflection.

A mirror of something buried inside himself.

The moment passed.

The man turned completely and vanished into the thinning street.

Rei stood still.

Itsuki nudged him lightly. "Yo. You okay?"

Rei blinked. "His eyes… they looked like mine."

Yuki furrowed her brow. "Maybe just a coincidence. Come on. We're gonna be late."

The three picked up their pace, leaving the strange moment behind—but none of them said anything for a while.

The shrine clearing came back into view.

Dappled light filtered through the trees. The soul bracelets still pulsed faintly where they'd left them. Wind whispered gently around the old stones.

They approached the center stone circle and stopped.

Raiga wasn't there.

Rei turned. "Guess he's not—"

"Begin your training."

A cold voice sliced through the silence like a blade.

All three jumped.

Raiga was standing behind them—arms crossed, silent as a ghost—barely a few feet away. His shadow stretched long under the trees, blending with the dark roots like he had been part of the forest the whole time.

Yuki clutched her chest. "Where did you—?!"

Itsuki nearly fell over. "Sweet flaming ramen, can you NOT appear like a horror movie demon???"

Raiga ignored them completely. His gaze went to Rei, then to their bracelets.

"No more talking. Meditate. Channel your energy. Shape your first weapon. You've rested enough."

His tone was flat. Measured. Absolute.

Rei nodded slowly, hand brushing the metal on his wrist.

Itsuki whispered to Yuki, "This man was born without a sense of chill."

She whispered back, "Just train before he stabs you."

They all moved to their spots once again.

And in the fading light… Their auras began to stir once more.

Yuki and Itsuki sat across from each other in silence, eyes closed, hands resting over the faintly glowing bracelets on their wrists. The clearing was quiet again—except for the gentle breeze weaving between the old stones.

Rei sat beneath the edge of the shrine's archway, legs pulled close, arms resting over his knees. His eyes didn't close. His thoughts didn't settle.

Raiga stood not far, back against a weathered tree, watching the wind stir the canopy above them. His expression was unreadable—like stone carved too long ago to carry warmth.

Rei finally spoke, voice quiet.

"…Raiga."

The older boy's eyes flicked toward him. "Hm?"

"That dream I saw… the girl… the chains… That voice..." Rei paused, fingers grazing the edge of his scar. "You ever seen something like that?"

Raiga was quiet for a long moment.

Then, low and flat, "No."

Rei turned his head slightly. "But you believe me?"

"I do."

Rei looked down again. "Then why does it hurt every time I remember it? Every time I see her… my chest burns. My head spins. I feel like… like she's inside me."

Raiga walked a few steps closer, arms still crossed.

"I asked Raizen," he said calmly. "He didn't say much. Only that… if you truly are the prophecy, then maybe your soul isn't alone."

Rei blinked. "Not alone?"

Raiga nodded. "Your ancestor's blood… it left a mark. The scar proves that. But the girl you're seeing… might be more than just a memory. She could be the other half of that prophecy. A soul left behind. Someone your bloodline still carries."

Rei's eyes widened slightly. "You mean… she's inside me?"

Raiga nodded once.

"A soul trapped in your blood. The wife of the original sorcerer. Maybe she never passed on. Maybe she's been waiting… for you."

Rei leaned back against the tree, hands gripping his knees.

"Then why does she hurt me…?" he whispered. "Why would someone inside me… burn me like that?"

Raiga didn't answer immediately.

"That's what I don't understand," he admitted. "Pain usually means rejection. Or warning. But from what you said… she didn't reject you. She claimed you."

Rei closed his eyes, letting the silence fill the air between them again.

Then he asked something that surprised even himself.

"…Why don't you call Raizen your father?"

Raiga's expression hardened.

"That's none of your concern."

Rei looked at him—but there was no fear in his voice. Just honesty.

"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to touch a nerve. I just…"

He looked down at his bracelet.

"I guess I'm just curious. You seem like you hate him. And I never even had a chance to know mine."

Raiga didn't respond. The silence dragged a little longer—until Rei added:

"I never got time with him. He left before I was even born. My mom raised me alone."

He let out a shaky breath.

"And even though I hate him for that… I still want to see him someday. Not to cry or yell. Just to ask…"

He looked up at Raiga.

"…Why did you abandon us?"

Raiga didn't meet his gaze. His arms were still folded—but his shoulders had tensed.

Raiga didn't answer right away. His eyes stayed fixed on the trees beyond the shrine clearing, where the wind stirred the branches like ripples on water.

Then, finally—his voice came.

"He killed my mom"

Low. Measured.

"She wasn't like Raizen. She didn't know magic."

Rei looked up.

Raiga continued, slower now—as if uncoiling memories he never wanted to remember.

"she wore this bracelet… the same one I use now-your's. She didn't need magic. She had strength of a different kind. Spirit. Patience. She and Raizen worked at the school together. Guardians of the seal. A team."

His fingers grazed the edge of his bracelet—the metal humming faintly, like it remembered her too.

"They both helped protect the portal. Balanced each other. I was still young. My sister even younger. And for a while... we were happy."

A bitter wind passed between the trees.

"Then one day…" Raiga's eyes darkened. "Everything changed."

Rei stayed silent, sensing the weight of what was coming.

"My mom… she started acting strange. Cold. Distant. Like her voice was hers—but her soul wasn't. I noticed first. She would stare at the floor for hours. Then, she started avoiding us. One night, she…" His jaw clenched. "She tried to attack my sister."

Rei's eyes widened slightly.

"But it wasn't her," Raiga said firmly. "It wasn't. Her eyes… were empty. I ran outside to call for help. Just a minute. That's all it took."

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"When I came back… she was already gone."

Rei felt a chill go up his spine.

"She was lying there. Still. Pale. My sister was sobbing beside her, hands shaking. Raizen was sitting against the wall... like he'd been hit by lightning. Shocked. Silent."

Raiga's fingers curled into fists.

"He said nothing. Did nothing. Just stared."

He turned away now, face partially shadowed beneath the canopy.

"I don't know what happened in that room. But I know who was left standing."

Rei's breath caught.

Raiga's voice sharpened—ice behind every word.

"He killed her."

Rei couldn't speak.

Raiga looked back at him now—eyes steady, but hollow.

"That's why I don't call him father. That man is not family. He may wear a smile now. He may act like a principal, a guide. But behind that calm voice is a man who made a choice... and never explained it."

He exhaled slowly.

"So don't ask me to trust him. Not yet. Not ever."

Raiga stood still, the edge of his cloak shifting with the breeze.

His eyes dropped to the bracelet on his wrist—the same one his mother once wore.

"I didn't even want to wear it," he said softly. "Didn't want to fight. Didn't want to follow his path. Not after what happened."

Rei watched him quietly.

Raiga's fingers traced the smooth metal, as if feeling for a memory buried beneath its surface.

"I tried to leave it once. Threw it into the woods behind our house. I thought… maybe if I forget, I can move on."

He paused. The wind moved through the trees like a sigh.

"But that night… I dreamt of her. Just her hands. Holding mine. That same warmth."

Raiga's voice broke for the first time—just slightly.

"Next morning, the bracelet was on my windowsill."

He closed his eyes for a breath, grounding himself.

"I don't know if it was fate, or the seal, or just a trick of the universe. But every time I put it on… even now… I feel like she's still here. Watching."

He looked down again at the glowing band, the faint red pulse flickering like a heartbeat.

"That's the only reason I'm still doing this," he said. "Not for Raizen. Not for duty. For her."

His voice was quiet now—honest in a way few ever heard from him.

"When I fight… I feel her strength."

Rei didn't speak.

The wind rustled the shrine leaves again, brushing softly across their skin.

Rei looked down, fingers brushing his scar—silent.

But in the stillness between them, something shifted.

A weight shared.

Not as teacher and student.

But as two sons—fighting ghosts neither of them chose.

Different pasts.

But both shaped by the same silence left behind by the ones they called father.

Two different kinds of silence… slowly understanding each other.

Just as silence fell between Rei and Raiga, a sudden shift cut through the air.

FWOOM.

A burst of light surged from across the shrine.

Both turned their heads.

Yuki sat beneath the sacred tree—eyes shut tight in concentration, her hands trembling slightly over the long wooden weapon she had chosen earlier. A training naginata—plain, sanded wood, with a blunted steel blade affixed at the tip.

But now...

The blade glowed.

Soft at first—then wild.

A stream of white and blue aura erupted from her bracelet, swirling like living wind around her arms and spiraling into the shaft of the weapon. The wooden pole groaned, then shimmered. Lines of light etched themselves across the surface, like veins awakening beneath skin. The blunt metal edge slowly reshaped—stretching, curving, becoming sharper, thinner, and gleaming.

It wasn't just glowing.

It was changing.

The naginata's entire form began to shift—its physical edges blurring, as if it were slipping between solid and spirit. The blue aura danced along the shaft like flowing water; the white pulsed like quiet lightning.

Yuki's brows furrowed, her breath catching—but she didn't flinch. Her grip tightened.

And then—CRACK.

A final snap of energy surged through the weapon.

The training tool was gone.

In her hands now was a real soulbound naginata—crafted of spirit, steel, and something deeper. Its curved blade gleamed like moonlight kissed by storm clouds. A flowing ribbon of energy traced behind the tip, fading in the wind like trailing silk.

Rei's eyes widened.

Raiga let out the faintest breath.

"She did it."