Rain pattered on the sidewalk, causing large puddles to form and streams to flow into nearby storm drains. As feet trailed along this sidewalk, their owner soon saw that the water turned red. The red led Jitsubutsu into a dark alley. Seeing a final bloodstain on the face of the door, Jitsubutsu sighed and slumped down next to a dumpster.

“Looks like I’ll be sitting here for a moment…”

“Do it!”

Two teenagers held a younger girl by her hair, whom was screaming in pain. A small boy, about 7 years old, laid in the mud, curled up in agony.

“Do it and we’ll let her go.”

“Don’t do it! They’ll just hit you harder!”

One of the teenagers smacked the girl and grabbed her face, pointing her towards him.

“You’re lucky you’re not old enough, or we’d be doing a whole lot worse, so shut your whore mouth!”

“You swear you’ll let her go?”

The teenagers looked down at the small boy, who had stopped shaking. One of them chuckled and approached him.

“Yeah, I swear.”

The boy got on his hands and knees and crawled towards the teen. Lowering his head, the boy stuck out his tongue and tried to lick the teens boot. The teen swung his leg up, causing the boy to bite his tongue, as well as go flying backwards into the mud.

“Stop it! Let him go!”

One of the boys punched her in the liver, making her fall limp as she was sent into shock.

“Sorry, I said I’d let her go, but my friends don’t think she should. Maybe if you, I’m not sure, held your breath in the river for 3 minutes?”

Throughout the group, mumbles were heard in agreeance. The girl quietly attempted to mumble something.

“You’ll... Drown…”

The boy stood up from the puddle of mud and wiped his mouth.

“You all must agree to let her go.”

Everyone nodded. The boy took off his muddy shirt, pants, shoes, and socks. As he took a deep breath to prepare for the long amount of time he’d spend underwater, one of the teens punched him in the stomach, causing him let out all of his air.

“No cheating! No get to it! We’ll time you.”

The teen shoved him into the river. Tumbling down the edge of the bank into the water, the boy made sure to grab the root of a tree to prevent himself from flowing downstream.

“I have to do this… For sis’ sake.”

As the water tumbled around him, he stand attempted to not move his body at all, only focusing on the root of the tree. Without warning, rocks began to pelt him from the surface. The teens laughed as they found larger and larger rocks to throw at the young boy.

“C’mon! It’s only been ten seconds!”

Beginning to lose consciousness, the boy drifted into a dark slumber.

The overwhelming darkness was soon replaced by a blinding white. Ass the boy opened his eyes, he looked around.

“Is this… heaven? Or is this purgatory?”

“Neither, my child.”

The boy turned to face the voice. A blank figure of a masculine man stood before him.

“Young Kyukyoku, what brings you here? Why must you intrude my domain?”

Kyukyoku slowly began to step away, but the figure didn’t allow him to, grabbing him by the wrist.

“Have you come here to steal from me?”

“N-No, Sir…”

The figure released Kyukyoku.

“I sense that you are honest. I’m sorry for the abrasive actions I partook in earlier. May I give you a gift in the hopes we move past said incident?”

“What the hell is wrong with this guy?”

“S-Sure.”

The figure grabbed Kyukyoku’s right arm. Almost immediately, Kyukyoku began to shout in pain.

“Congratulations on becoming this centuries Jinsei no Hogo!”

As the rapids engulfed Kyukyoku, a large log hit him in the stomach, sending him out of the water onto the shore. As he coughed for air, the group of teens ran up to him.

“That wasn’t even thirty seconds! Get back in there!”

Kyukyoku’s pupils dilated as he saw his sister laying in a puddle of blood and mud.

“You sons of bitches…”

“What was that? I don’t think I heard you right!”

A teen swung his leg at Kyukyoku. Grabbing his ankle, Kyukyoku held the teen’s leg straight, then drove his elbow into the teen’s knee, causing his leg to bend in an unnatural way. The teen sscreamed in agony as the boy stood above him.

“You’ll all die here.”

As rain splashed on Make’s face, her eyes slowly opened. She heard something splashing in the mud. As she saw a figure, she opened her eyes more.

“Kyu…”

Kyukyoku was punching the face of one of the boys repeatedly. As blood splattered onto his face with each punch, Kyukyoku’s eyes dulled.

“Kyu! Stop it!”

Kyukyoku froze and looked at his sister, who was now standing next to him.

“I’m fine, so stop it already!”

Kyukyoku’s pupils contracted back to their normal state.

“Make…”

As Kyukyoku looked back down at the bloody mess, he screamed in horror.

“So what you’re telling me is that upon receiving this ‘gift,’ you immediately harnessed an unnatural power to save your sister?”

“Yes.”

An old man rubbed his chin as he sat at a small table with Kyukyoku.

“If you are telling the truth, then you are the Jinsei no Hogo - no, beyond that, you have already shown your potential as a Pubiàn Fanxiang. I will take you under my wing immediately to begin your training.”

As Kyukyoku packed his bags to leave, Make walked into the one room shack.

“So… you’re really leaving, huh…”

Kyukyoku gave his big sister a warming hug.

“Don’t worry, Make. I’ll be back soon. After I finish my training, I should be able to take up jobs so we won’t be so poor anymore.”

Kyukyoku looked down at himself.

“I’m tired of always wearing these rags…”

As Kyukyoku looked up at his sister, he saw she was crying.

“Sis…”

Through her sniffling, Make formed a sentence.

“I-I’m so sorry! I-I tried my b-best, but it’s s-so hard to make money!”

Kyukyoku embraced his sister once more.

“No, Make. You’ve done more than enough for me. I’m grateful for everything you did, so…”

Tears began to drip onto Make’s neck.

“...so I swear I’ll pay you back for all of your hard work!”

“Yaburu Hagane!”

An older Kyukyoku drove his fist into an armored swordsmen, completely shattering his armor and sending him flying into the dirt behind him. Kyukyoku stood above him as he tried to collect himself.

“You’re under arrest.”

As his arms were placed into wooden blocks behind his back, and elder patted Kyukyoku’s back.

“Job well done, young Kyukyoku. The fruits of your labor bear themselves today.”

“Master?”

“Come,” the elder said as he batted his hand toward himself.

The elder sat on a bench, patting next to him.

“Please, take a seat.”

Kyukyoku did as he was told and sat next to the elder.

“What is it, Master?”

“How long has it been since we first met, Kyukyoku?”

Kyukyoku had to think for a moment, but then answered him.

“About 8 years, Master.”

The elder let out a chuckle.

“So it’s only been 8 years since I saw a dirty little brat that protected his sister from a group of bullies…”

Kyukyoku thought back on his childhood and smiled.

“Yeah, things were tough back then, but my sister and I always looked out for one another.”

“Have you kept in touch with your sister?”

“We send letters occasionally, but seeing as how we’re always on the move, it’s mainly one-way transactions.”

“I see. Why don’t you go pay her a visit?”

Kyukyoku looked stunned.

“But, Master, my traini-”

“Young Kyukyoku, do you not understand what I mean?”

“I’m sorry, Master, but I do not.”

“Young Kyukyoku, just now you defeated the leader of a strong faction with one move. He has evaded capture for years and killed many innocent people, and despite everyone’s best efforts, he had gotten away with it. Many of my colleagues suffered the same fate as many of his victims. You stoo-, no, stand above the rest, young Kyukyoku.”

“Master…”

“You have learned everything I have to offer. My teachings come directly from the first Jinsei no Hogo, Jitsubutsu. I hope that you use the knowledge and wisdom I have given you to further yourself and humanity.”

Kyukyoku stood up from the bench and bowed before the elder.

“Thank you so much for you time and dedication, Master!”

The elder waved his hand.

“There’s no need for that. You have saved my skin many times already. Think of your debt as paid off.”

Kyukyoku looked up once more.

“Actually, Master, I have one more request.”

“Hmm?”

Make,

I’ve done it. I’ve completed training. The journey I started so long ago has finally come to an end, but I now face another. I’m apologize, but I won’t be returning home quite yet. I’ve put in a request with Master, and it seems that I’ll be joining the organization. I do this not only as my duty as the Jinsei no Hogo, but also to help monetarily. Enclosed in this letter is my office address, so when I return from missions, I can read all of your letters.

Love you,

Kyukyoku

Kyukyoku sat behind a table with other people, all of them older than him by a few decades. As Kyukyoku rested his eyes waiting for a presentation to start, he heard the adults snickering.

“Seriously? They’re putting a child on this task force? What kind of mockery is this?”

“Surely there was a mistake and he’ll be removed immediately…”

As a man walked to the front of the stage, silence overwhelmed the room. Kyukyoku opened his eyes and focused on the man.

“Today, we’ll be investigating a small cult located just outside of Sylphera. Reports have it that they are experimenting with souls.”

“Sylphera? That’s where Make is…”

An adult in the back spoke up.

“Sir, what kind of experiments?”

“To put it frankly, they are killing people and trying to capture their souls. The reason behind this is unknown for now, but it likely increases their strength tenfold per soul.”

Whispers were beginning to fill the void of sound.

“Quiet down. The task at hand is to find their base of operations, capture any of the cult members, and obtain all of their research.”

One of the snickering adults raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“Sir, are you sure that everybody can participate in this mission? As you said, their power could be leagues above some.”

“I assure you that everyone in this room has been trained and tested enough to participate.”

The adult clicked his tongue and crossed his arms in disapproval.

“Alright everyone, let’s go!”