Kai: “He is likely the strongest Guardian in our Order”

According to Kai, despite some of the other Guardians having teams, nobody wanted to team up with Guardian of Ice, Koutarou Yama, for some reason.

It might have been due to the rate of fatalities and injuries on prevalent on his missions.

Even then, Nagare was not dissuaded.

Whatever it takes, he had to meet this man.

Nagare could not pass up this opportunity.

He hated the snail-slow pace at which things were going.

With Nagare being low ranked member of the Order, he was not likely to be sent on important missions any time soon, even if he felt that he was more than ready for them.

More than anything, he wanted to kill all monsters.

To free the world of monsters, that was his only dream.

And he would do anything to achieve it.

From the description Kai provided, Nagare was quickly able to find him.

Even taller than Shoyo(who stood half a head taller than Nagare), shoulders broader than Nagare’s, his hair, reaching to his shoulders, was white in the front and black in the back.

He wore a light armor underneath his light blue kimono. A single katana with a white hand guard was strapped to his belt.

Nagare: “Lord Yama. My name is Nagare Shirosaki, 1-star class Demon Hunter ”

Nagare proceeded to prostrate before him. It was humiliating, but this was the only way.

Nagare: “Please take me with you on your mission!”

Shoyo: ‘Wow. Awkward’

Shoyo: ‘And this fine fellow is….oh boy’

Even after more than a decade, there was no way Shoyo wouldn’t recognize the young man before him.

After all, he practically raised him.

He had hoped that the ‘Koutarou Yama’ person was someone else, a stranger with the same name as his former disciple.

But alas, the one before him was the genuine article.

Shoyo: “What a small world”

On one hand, he wanted to jump forward and embrace his former pupil, but on the other hand, he wanted to make as little sound as possible.

When he left Koutarou in a human settlement, Shoyo never imagined Koutarou would grow up to become a Demon Hunter, of all things, and a Guardian while he was at it.

Granted, Shoyo did teach him how to kill monsters, but that was purely for the sake of Koutarou’s survival.

There was a high probability that Koutarou had already figured out that Shoyo, his former master was in fact the very monster that the Order had sworn to hunt down. If that was the case, then a clash between them was inevitable.

That was something Shoyo wanted to avoid at all cost.

Having raised him, Shoyo came to see him as one of his own.

While Shoyo never had any children, Koutarou was probably the closest he ever had to one.

Fighting him was the last thing he would ever want to do.

Shoyo: ‘Unless Koutarou figures it out himself, I will simply be just another person, Nagare’s companion would do for now’

Yama: “I do not mind”

Nagare: “Really? That easy?”

Yama: “Well. I don’t have any right to hold back a man from fulfilling his goal. But you do realize what you are getting yourself into, right?”

Nagare: “I do”

Yama: “I had people before who wanted to be in team with me, but they either perished or were maimed for life to never fight again. My missions are certain death types, even for the other Guardians. I can only guarantee my own survival. I cannot ensure that you will come back unharmed or if you will come back at all. Do you understand that?”

Nagare: “If I die, I will die fighting monsters”

Yama: “So be it. We will leave tomorrow morning”

Shoyo: “If he is coming, I am too”

Yama: “And you are?”

Yama: ‘Squinted eyes? He looks familiar for some strange reason….’

Shoyo: ‘Oh no, he is looking at me. Act natural Ryoma, natural…’

Shoyo: “I am his partner; we are kind of a two in one deal”

Kai: “Don’t forget me as well. I still have to repay my debt to you two”

Yama: ‘Wow, it went from one to three new teammates. What a weird day’

Just like that, Team Yama was formed.