Sorin and Hiro looked up at a large circular stage above them, bright lights shining onto the stage and leaving the crowd surrounding it in darkness. Atop the stage, two figures stood, both wearing white uniforms with green belts tied in knots holding the uniforms together. On one side of the stage stood a large boy, about the same age as Sorin or Hiro yet twice their size, with muscles covering his body. Meanwhile on the other side of the stage stood Tia, readying her hands to battle the boy. The boy smiled confidently, then rushed towards Tia, the girl preparing herself to fight. The boy threw a punch towards Tia, however the girl easily weaved around the boy’s attack, moving her body towards him. As Tia got closer, she reached around, her arms wrapping around the boy’s neck, and a split second later, Tia had begun falling towards the ground, pulling the boy down with her. While in mid air, Tia repositioned herself, swapping her and the boy’s positions, right before the boy’s back slammed onto the ground, and Tia let go, backing away a few steps from her opponent. A whistle was heard, as a man in a referee’s outfit stepped into the ring. The boy stood up painfully, as the referee held Tia’s hand up in the air.

“The winner of this match is Tia Morgan!” The referee announced, as the crowd began to cheer. The boy approached Tia, and with a friendly smile he shook her hand. The two exchanged a few words, before they departed, and Tia jumped off the stage into the crowd, next to Sorin and Hiro who waited below.

“That was badass!” Hiro said enthusiastically, as he patted Tia on the shoulder. “You took that guy down with no sweat despite him being like twice your size! You’ve gotta teach me that move sometime, Tia.”

Tia smiled at the two. “Thanks for coming to see this thing guys. Probably wasn’t what you were planning to spend your afternoon on.”

Sorin smiled back. “Watching a karate tournament is probably better than just playing video games all night, so I’d say it’s an improvement.” He said. From behind Sorin and Hiro, a tall girl, only slightly older than them, emerged from the crowd.

“You kicked his ass Tia!” The girl said, as she leaned down, throwing her arms around the younger girl to hug her.

“Anna! So you could come after all!” Tia said, as the taller girl let go and stood up.

“Yeah, turns out that medical emergency at the hospital was nothing, the other nurses could handle it just fine.” The girl, Anna, turned to Sorin and Hiro, and smiled at the pair. “So you’re Tia’s new friends I’ve heard about? You know normally I would be worried about my little sister hanging out with a couple of guys but looking at the two of you… yeah she could definitely kick both your asses if you ever try anything weird.”

“Why do you immediately assume they’re just some perverts or something?” Tia scoffed at Anna, before turning to Sorin and Hiro. “This is Anna, my sister.”

Hiro smiled and waved at the tall girl, “Good to meet you, I’m Hiro and he’s Sorin.”

“Hiro?” Anna thought for a moment, before snapping her fingers in realisation. “Oh! You were the guy who threw that party! The one where a homeless guy on drugs showed up with a knife!”

Hiro tried to force a smile, as a wave of shame suddenly washed over him. “Uhhh… none of that was true except that it was a guy…”

“Really? Huh, I guess rumours do change a lot as they go from person to person.”

Tia glared at Anna. “I literally told you, he was a guy in a business suit who had a chain or something with him.”

“That doesn’t mean the things I said couldn’t be true.” Anna laughed, then turned to her sister. “Hey, Tia, sorry to tear you away from your friends but work called and I might be out for a while. I’d like to get you home while I still can, so unless you wanna catch the bus this late at night we might need to leave.”

“I’m not catching the bus this late.” Tia stated. Anna nodded, and the sisters waved Sorin and Hiro goodbye as they left the stadium.

As they waved the sisters goodbye, Hiro turned to Sorin and asked a question, “Hey Sorin, do you have a way to get home?”

“I’ll just walk. It’s fine.”

“What!? You can’t walk home this late at night!”

Sorin turned to Hiro. “Well what about you? How’re you getting home?”

Hiro smiled sheepishly, as he looked away from his friend. “Walking… I guess…” Sorin scoffed, as Hiro quickly turned to his friend to justify his claims. “Well, my house is a lot closer than yours so it’s fine for me to walk home! Plus… I kinda deserved it, I think Hano’s mad at me for busting up the house at the party. It’s okay though, you should come over and stay the night, it’s way too late to walk home alone!”

Sorin stared at Hiro for a moment, before sighing and pulling out his phone. “I’m just gonna call my mum. She can pick us both up.”

Tia sat in the front seat of her sister’s car, with Anna behind the wheel as the two travelled through the golden lit streets. The compressed voice of a news reporter talked out of the car’s radio as the sisters sat and half listened.

“Another unexplained attack by a particularly dangerous individual has been reported. Zero casualties, however the attack has only strengthened the public’s fear of these mysterious individuals. Many speculate they may be terrorists using a performance enhancing drug to attack innocent civilians, however the police have refused to make any sort of statement on the issue, except that civilians should listen to the press conference hosted by Hano Moritoshi scheduled for tomorrow. Many wonder what the link between Moritoshi and the individuals is, with Moritoshi himself promising that all he has to say will be revealed tomorrow.”

The broadcast continued, as Anna interrupted it to speak to Tia. “The guy who attacked the party, he was one of these terrorists or whatever, right?”

“Looks like it.” Tia replied.

“Jesus… I’m just glad no one got hurt then, especially you, these guys sound really dangerous. I’m sure the police have as much under control as they can, but what’s with this press conference?” Anna laughed to herself as she continued speaking. “I mean, what does some rich asian guy know about terrorists? Was it some experimental drug stolen from sci-fi movie incorporated, funded by your neighborhood billionaire or something?”

Tia stared out the window, as it passed by small groups of civilians going about their day to day lives. “There aren’t as many people out tonight.”

“I mean yeah, have you heard the news lately? These psychos are apparently painting the town red with blood and the police aren’t saying jack about it. No wonder people aren’t going out of their homes, they’re scared.”

“It’s just… where’s the line between the truth and rumours? Are the insane feats of these guys being exaggerated or is everything true? I’d like to say it’s all exaggerated but at this point… I’m not so sure.”

Anna glanced at Tia with a worried look, before plastering a smile on her face and forcing an upbeat attitude. “Hey, it’s all good! You’ll be okay! You’re a smart girl, if you see danger you run, if you see someone in danger you help out, as long as you don’t do anything stupid and stay away from these terrorist guys you’ll be all good! Besides, even if you get caught up with one, you can just show him some of those karate moves you’ve been practising! They’ll never see it coming!” Anna laughed out loud, causing Tia to smile and chuckle along with her.

“Yeah… hopefully that press conference will clear things up a little. But for now, I guess we’ve just gotta play it safe and stay smart.” Tia turned back to her sister, now smiling. “Thanks Anna.”

Anna smiled. “Oh yeah, how about those friends of yours though? What do you think of that Hiro kid? He seems like a pretty good guy, you think he might be boyfriend material?”

“Yeah right, I’d only be competing with everybody else on the planet. The guy’s like a magnet, I swear he’s already been asked out by half the girls at school only a few days in and he’s rejected all of them. I don’t think he even knows how popular he is, for a guy this popular he’s kinda shit at picking up social cues.”

“What about that Sorin kid then? Seemed to me like he was hiding behind Hiro the entire time I was there, but what do you think of him?”

Tia glanced out the window again, as she thought for a moment. “I dunno… it’s hard to get a read on him, I don’t think he lets people in on his thoughts a lot.”

“So mysterious eh? Do girls your age still find that hot?”

“You’re not even that much older than me! Besides, it’s more like just… shy instead of mysterious. He’s anything but social, that’s the one thing I can pick up about him.”

“You’ve picked some weird guys to hang out with.” Anna said, chuckling to herself.

Hiro opened the door to his house, the various holes in the floor and walls covered up by cardboard and duct tape, shoddily hiding the evidence of the battle before until the damage is properly fixed. The boy prepared to call out to his brother, signalling that he was home, but before he could he peered into the living room and saw three men in dark suits, sitting in the room across from Hano.

“The press conference is tomorrow.” One of the men spoke. “Will you be able to speak? Are you prepared enough?”

Hano sighed to himself, “Gentlemen, I am prepared. I don’t need you knocking on my door the night before the conference to ask me if I’m ready. I said I would be ready, and so I will be.”

The first man nodded, then all three stood up and began leaving the room. “Very well. We will review your notes one more time before the press conference. This event must go exactly right, otherwise the whole world will be thrown into a panic. The world will be listening tomorrow, Mr. Moritoshi, and so we hope you are prepared to tell them what they need to hear.”

As the men began walking out of the room, they noticed Hiro and stopped in their tracks. “Who’s this?” Another of the men asked.

“That’s my younger brother. He will not be attending the press conference.” Hano explained.

“Are you sure?” The man asked. “If he has more to say then it could be helpful in soothing the public.”

“He has school, plus there’s nothing he can say that I won’t already be saying. He doesn’t need to go, and so he won’t be going.” Hano said sternly. The men looked among themselves, before nodding, and quickly walking past Hiro, leaving the house and closing the door behind them.

“Friends of yours?” Hiro asked sarcastically.

“If I called them my friends I think they’d ask for a sixteen page document compiling the evidence of my claim.” Hano joked with his regular serious face, as he stood up out of his chair. “Officials from the secretary of defense. This press conference tomorrow is gonna be important to reassure the public that everything is under control, so they’re obligated to check on me to make sure I say everything exactly right. Feels like if I breathe wrong then Europe will erupt into flames and South America will sink into the ocean.”

“Sheesh, I’d say no pressure but you’d know that’s bull.” Hiro followed Hano as he walked into the kitchen and began pouring two cups of tea. Hiro walked past, grabbed one of the cups and thanked his brother as he walked towards his room. “I guess all I can say is good luck, and make sure to review your notes. If you’ve gotta pick any time to not screw up then it’s now.” Hano nodded, then picked up his cup and began walking back into the living room. As Hano began to sit back down, he heard his brother speak. “Hey Hano.” Hano turned to Hiro, who was smiling at his older brother. “You’ve got this. No pressure.”

Hano smiled. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” Hano sat back down, as he stared into his tea for a long moment, before glancing up at Hiro once more. “Thanks Hiro.”

Sorin entered his bedroom, flicking the light switch as he walked through the door. As the boy closed the door behind him, Kamui floated next to him, looking around the room.

Kamui’s eyes scanned over the shelves filled with books and video game cases, Sorin’s desk which was covered in loose papers, and his bed which was left messy and unmade. “I’ll never get over how depressing this room is.” Kamui spoke. “The whole place just feels like shit.”

“What, you’re an interior designer now or something?” Sorin joked, as he sat at his desk and looked down at the papers below.

“No, just telling you that your living conditions are shit.” Kamui sighed. “Well, I guess it’s my living condition too now, not like I can go back to the yokai army or anything.”

“You could always leave my body.” Sorin said, as he began writing on the papers on his desk.

“You never fail to bring up that possibility, do you?” Kamui floated over to Sorin’s bed, as he threw his back onto the messy covers and stared at the roof. Kamui thought for a long moment, his eyes fixated on the nothingness above him. “I’m a fugitive now.”

Sorin glanced at Kamui from the corner of his eye. “You were a fugitive before, weren’t you? Every human on earth is after you, I’d think that counts.”

“Not among humans, asshole. I’m not a fugitive to humans, I’m just an enemy soldier. It’s to yokai, I’m a fugitive to yokai.” Kamui paused, as his thoughts slowly leaked out of his mouth as speech. “I’ve never had to fight another yokai before… not seriously at least. I’ve been in training matches, and they’ve always trained us in the army for the possibility of fighting traitors, but I’ve never legitimately fought another yokai who was trying to kill me, let alone one that I once called an ally.” Kamui spread out his arms on the bed, continuing his monologue. “Sure, I never really liked Hajime, the guy was always an asshole, but I still considered him an ally. We were fighting on the same side, we used to team up a lot, even if I didn’t like it. We had a common enemy.” Kamui rolled onto his side, facing away from Sorin. “When I was running at Hajime with that sword, I thought to myself, ‘Am I really about to kill him? Am I about to kill Hajime?’ I was fully prepared to do so, but I think I was worried about what was gonna come after. There was no way I could ever return to the yokai army if I killed Hajime that night. Well, it’s not like him surviving made a difference, I’m still never gonna be able to go back there. All the people I once considered allies now want to kill me.”

Sorin stared at Kamui for a long moment, before turning back to his papers and replying to the yokai. “Well… you’re not completely out of allies.” Kamui looked over his shoulder at Sorin, as the boy continued. “We’re definitely not as close as you were to some of your fellow yokai, but we’ve gotta work together now. I need you to protect me from yokai, you need me to hide among the humans. Wouldn’t that make us allies?”

Kamui stared at Sorin for a long moment, before turning away from the young boy. “Yeah… I guess it would.”

“You’re still allowed to hate my guts though.” Sorin said.

Kamui chuckled. “And you’re still allowed to hate mine. I guess there’s another thing we have in common.” Both Sorin and Kamui laughed for a moment, the first laugh they had shared together.

Hano blew out a puff of smoke, as he adjusted his tie and kept both his cigarette and the smoke away from his suit. Even from backstage Hano could hear the whispers and murmurs of the people beyond, waiting to hear what he has to say. Hano felt a buzzing in his pocket, and he quickly pulled out his phone to see a text from his brother, ‘Break a leg!’ it read, and Hano couldn’t help but smile. As he did, a man in a suit tapped Hano on the shoulder.

“You’re up.” The man said. “We’ve reviewed your notes, you’re good to go.”

Hano nodded. “Thank you for this opportunity.” He said, as he squashed the butt of his cigarette in a nearby ashtray, leaving the ash and paper behind as he walked past the curtains and onto the stage of the press conference, with hundreds of people in front waiting for Hano.

Normally seeing every single student on their phones in class would be quite the irregularity for Sorin, however today was different, as he knew that every student was watching the exact same thing. The teacher had no right to tell anyone off, as he too was staring at his phone in anticipation. Sorin leaned over, as he, Hiro and Tia all stared at the same phone, as it showed a livestream of the same stage Hano was taking his first steps onto.

Hano stepped onto the stage, taking a seat in the center behind a desk, with a single microphone resting atop it. Hano looked down at the hundreds of reporters and officials all staring at him from just below the stage. Hano raised his gaze towards the cameras at the back of the room, as he knew that watching him through those glass lenses was the entire world. Hano took a deep breath, before leaning towards the microphone.

“My fellow humans.” Hano began. “I say humans because what I am about to speak about is not a matter of nations. This is not a problem for any one group of people to face, this is a challenge that we as the human race must face together. My name is Hano Moritoshi. In my homeland of Japan, we tell tales of yokai. Strange, supernatural beings that possess living creatures and cause mischief. Unfortunately, all legends stem from some form of truth, and this legend is particularly close to the facts it was based on. The yokai are malicious spirits that possess humans and bear powers that defy the very laws of reality. The yokai have been kept sealed by my family, away from human eyes for centuries, however recently they have found a way to escape from their seal and find their way into our mortal realm. The yokai have harbored a deep hatred for humanity ever since they were first sealed away, and now that their army is within our streets they wish for nothing but to see humanity burn. The rumours of individuals with great strength and supernatural powers are the result of these yokai attacking humans indiscriminately, and these attacks have only spread fear in the hearts of humans everywhere. The yokai hope to back us into a corner, then finish us while we cower behind closed doors.” Hano took in a deep breath, as he saw the panic begin to manifest itself on the faces of those below the stage. Hano breathed out, then leaned back towards his microphone. “But we shall not let these yokai have their way.” The reporters and officials began looking confused, as they watched Hano from below as the young man began to speak with confidence in his voice. “These yokai are underestimating humanity as a species. Yes we fight among ourselves over pointless things, hurting each other for our own benefit, but that is not humanity’s true nature. When I walk through the city I see towering skyscrapers, cars that can move at speeds higher than any living animal, and phones that are capable of performing advanced calculations at lightning speeds, contained within an object that can fit in your pocket. When I walk through the city I see the results of hundreds of thousands of years spent problem solving, advancing, and cooperating. That is humanity’s true nature, when they encounter a seemingly impossible to complete task they work together and find a way to complete it. Humans may be weak individually but together we can overcome even the greatest of threats. And that is what this is. The yokai are a threat to humanity never seen before, but we will overcome them because we are humans, and we are strong together!” Hano stood up out of his chair, picking up the microphone with him, as he spoke into the cameras with a voice that filled the room with inspiration. “This is war. It is not a war between nations, but a war between humans and demons. And although the odds may seem impossible at first, we as a species would not be where we are today if we gave up that easily! This is a war that will change the world, and the only way to win is to fight! My family has kept humanity safe from the yokai for centuries, and so I vow on my life to carry out my family’s legacy, and protect humanity with all my strength until I breathe my last breath! But I can’t do it alone, and so that is why I request you, to all of humanity, to lend me your strength and help me protect this world from the demons who hope to destroy it!” Hano looked over the people below him, his eyes scanning over the crowd as they watched him in awe. “You may think I'm overconfident, you may even think I’m a fool. But I believe in humanity. I believe that when humans work together, we can accomplish impossible tasks and come out stronger than before!” Hano stared directly at the camera, as his gaze was broadcasted to billions of people across the world, as all of them heard the words, “My name is Hano Moritoshi, and I will win this war for humanity. All I ask is that you help me, and believe in humanity like I do. If you can do that, then I promise we will win this war. Thank you, humanity.” Hano placed his microphone on the table, then walked off the stage, leaving the crowd behind as he returned behind the curtains, his message sent and the world having listened.

Hiro pumped his hand into the air in excitement, then cried into the air, “Yeah! That’s my brother for you!”

The teacher quickly put away his phone and turned to the class. “Alright, alright that’s enough press conferences! We’ve got a curriculum to follow!” The teacher smiled, as he stood out of his chair to write on the whiteboard behind him. “Still, that speech even had me pumped up quite a bit. Believing in humanity can be a difficult thing sometimes, but I hope you can all take that man’s words to heart and believe in humanity too.”

Sorin leaned back to sit on his desk normally, as Kamui floated above the ground behind him. “That Hano guy… he just declared war against all the yokai in the world.” Kamui looked out the window, concerned. “The yokai aren’t gonna take kindly to that.”