Dakota's Apartment

Seishin Realm

3:56PM

Dakota gathered everyone around her kitchen table once more, clasping a stack of papers in hand. She somehow managed to capture the blank, indiscernible expression of an actual teacher right before they reveal test results to the class. Drawing out the agony right up until the very last second.

"Everyone passed their mock exams!!" cheered Dakota.

Hisa and Hemiko joined her cheers, while Colt let the relief wash over him with a huff. Jax didn't seem to react at all.

"I know you're all curious," teased Dakota, "I guess I have no choice but to read off the rankings."

"Literally no one is interested in that." muttered Jax.

Dakota snapped her fingers, "Silence! The person who came in fourth is Hemiko, third is Colt, second is Jax, and Hisa was first with a perfect score."

Colt nearly fell from his seat as Jax spat out his water.

"That idiot got a perfect score?"

"I did! And it's because-" Hisa rose from her seat and struck a triumphant pose, "I'm the legendary Omni-Reaper!"

"Woo-hoo! Go Omni-Reaper!" Hemiko continued to cheer her on as she danced around the kitchen.

"What did I score then?" asked Jax.

Dakota looked at her answer key, "You missed question #93."

He growled before sitting back down, "I don't even care at this point..."

Colt scratched his head and laughed, "Man, Hisa's luck stat has to be maxed out."

Returning to her seat, Hisa downed the rest of her water. "Do you guys want to know where I got that name from?"

"What is up with all of this info no one cares about?" muttered Jax."

"I'm omn-i-po-tent, Did I say that right?" Confirming she sounded it out correctly from Dakota, she carried on. "I'm omnipotent, and I'm like a grim reaper who hunts down anyone I want. Omni-Reaper!"

Hemiko clapped her hands, "I love that name!"

"And Hemiko's my right-hand man." said Hisa, "And Colt is my rival-"

Colt groaned, "N-No. No I'm not-"

Hisa giggled, "And Jax is my apprentice."

"I'd rather die," interjected Jax, "And why are you a reaper when you fight with an axe? Most grim reapers I've seen have scythes."

"I hate sickles and scythes! An axe is better at whacking stuff!"

"Whacking? You're using it wrong if you use it like a hammer, you moron."

"Is that so?" She smirked, "No one's managed to kill me yet, so I must be doing something right!"

He relented with a sigh, "Touche."

Snapping her fingers once more, Dakota regained their attention. "Pop quiz time! Hemiko, how many sectors are there in the Seishin Realm?"

"Four!"

"Correct! Hisa, how many core guardians are there?"

She grinned, "Easy! Five!"

"Wrong! There's a core guardian for each sector, meaning that there's four."

Hisa deflated in her seat, "Oof..."

"Jax! What are the names of the four sectors?"

"Cobalt, Onyx, Ruby, and Empty."

"Correct! Colt, what's the lowest rank a core hunter can be?"

He rose from his seat and gave a salute, "D-Rank, Ma'am!"

"Correct! Can core beasts be F-Rank?"

"No Ma'am!"

"Correct!" She tossed the stack of papers aside and smiled, "You all pass for now."

Hisa leapt from her seat, snatching Colt and Hemiko by their wrists, "Come on, let's go buy my reaper costume at the store!"

"Wh-Why am I coming?" asked Colt.

"You're my rival, so you need a costume too!"

-

She dragged them both into the Southern city, reaching a clothing store. Hisa and Hemiko ditched Colt upon arrival, telling him to buy his costume on his own, while they searched off in the other parts of the store.

Oh yeah, he made sure to give Hemiko that hug he promised too. She was caught off guard but responded swiftly. Even with the Junkyarders still raising hell in Poor Man's Land, having Hemiko here, safe and sound, confirmed that things could get better.

With nothing else to do, he opted to scan several outfits in a blank state. He was supposed to be strategizing for a way to get rid of the Junkyarders, and here he was, stuck in a clothing store.

Pulling a purple hoodie with a black fire pattern from the rack, a grin formed on his face.

I shouldn't stress out too much. I could buy Yuri a gift here.

He dialed Dakota's phone number, "Uh, Dakota? Do you know what Yuri's favorite color is?"

"Favorite color?" She laughed, "Are you trying to buy something?"

Her smug smile radiated through the phone, reddening his face. "I'm trying to buy her a hoodie, so can you just tell me her favorite color?"

"It's black."

"You're a lifesaver!"

"Wait-Did that black and red one come from you too?"

He nearly dropped his phone, slamming it into the wall to keep it from falling. Quite counterintuitive. In fact, this act probably did more harm than the initial fall would have.

"Damn Colt, are you okay over there?" asked Dakota, stifling laughter.

"I-I'm fine, I just almost dropped my phone-Never mind that!"

"Aw...Look at you getting all flustered. You guys are so cute together! Can I hook you up?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he leaned against the wall. "C-Can you really do something like that?"

Dakota scoffed, "Duh! I'm pretty much Yuri's sister, so I could help you out! Although, it looks like you have things covered already. See ya!"

As she clicked from the line, he was left in shambles. Leave it to someone like Dakota to drop in and leave after wrecking everything.

He didn't mind the fact that Yuri still kept his hoodie. She never returned it but knowing that she wore it outside was another deal in itself.

It was barely a day since she left for her mission, but he already missed her.

Damn it, Dakota...

She did that on purpose.

After spending some time searching the store, he bought himself the purple and black hoodie from before and some white jeans, while he bought Yuri a black hoodie with a pink bunny on the front of it.

He didn't stick with Hisa's larger than life theme, but the outfit kept in tune with his own clothing style.

With time to spare, since Hisa and Hemiko were still shopping, he brought himself to wait by the entrance. Out of pure boredom, he started counting how many of the pedestrians walked by wearing something purple.

Why purple?

He had no clue, but it was somewhat entertaining.

A blur of dark green shot past him. Even with the fleeting gaze he snagged, it was so familiar, he had to see it again. He stepped outside, with that hint of green looming off in the distance, prompting him to follow. The last time something went down like this, he wound up in his college's courtyard. Still, some force tugged him after this mirage. Swerving through crowds of citizens, trying to mask his true intentions, his quest this time left him standing in a dark alley.

The world around him had faded, warped almost. With no awareness of how fast or far he walked, he found himself staring down a young woman. A young woman who was far beyond some simple mirage.

A symbol of his hopes and dreams, as well as his past and his failures.

She wore a white cropped t-shirt with loose sleeves, and some black bell bottom pants.

Even now, after all that's happened, her beauty was intact. An image of the past, perfectly captured in living time. Yet, there was still that looming sense of uncertainty that accompanied her.

"M-Mitsuba?"