Ichiro dropped the heavy pack basket with a loud metallic thud. He almost exhaled a sigh of relief, but it was cut short as a heavy hand smacked the back of his head. He shrieked, a mix of horror and embarrassment, as a loud peal of mocking laughter erupted behind him. "You're weak and afraid" the perpetrator laughed, the sound grating against Ichiro's ears. Ichiro turned. And of course, it was his primary tormentor; Yuto Shibata. Ichiro swallowed his pride and bowed slightly. "Good day, Yuto-senpai." He knew the rules. A harvester could never disrespect a Hunter, especially one from a prestigious clan. "All you do is pick and pick, like a beggar" Yuto sneered. He turned toward the other Hunters, who were busy stripping off their blood-stained armor and changing into casual clothes. "Everyone! Look at this!" He pointed a finger at Ichiro, who instinctively tried to shield his face. "Ichiro can never stop begging!". The Hunters glanced over. Most of them burst into laughter -- mostly

Kenta raised an eyebrow, then lowered it just as quickly. He placed a heavy hand on Ichiro's shoulder and turned to the assembled Hunters. "Ichiro will be joining the hunt today" Kenta announced. The reaction was immediate. Some Hunters chuckled, others frowned, and most simply didn't care. Yuto, however, looked delighted. "We don't hunt with our mouths, Teta" he scoffed. Kenta headed toward the van, leaving them to prepare. Yuto immediately cornered Ichiro. "You can't even afford a weapon, can you?" "I'll be fine" Ichiro muttered, refusing to meet Yuto's eyes. Yuto burst out laughing. "Everyone! Ichiro thinks I'm worried about him!" The Hunters joined in, the sound echoing in the staging area. "Stick to harvesting, brat" one Hunter spat as he climbed into the van. Yuto leaned in, his hand gripping Ichiro's shoulder. Ichiro stared at the hand with a hollow, soulless expression. "You can't hunt without a weapon, Ichiro. And nobody is going to lend you theirs just so you can dr

"Welcome" Hitoro said. Jinshi plastered a smile sitting "thank you sir" he said placing the paper bag he brought with him on the sofa."You have a visitor, your friend" Emiko reported, Ichiro wore a frown "I don't..." "You do; he's downstairs" she said firmly. Ichiro shook his head "I don't have a friend..." "I'm inviting him upstairs" she said leaving "Emi..." She slammed the door shut. Emiko returned afterwards with the 'visitor'. Who had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was more confident than anyone Ichiro had ever seen that was not Yuto. His looks gave Ichiro a sense of nostalgia 'this jealousy is too familiar' Ichiro thought his eyes scanning his visitor who was also very familiar but he had a hard time remembering where they met. 'or is it a second grade classmate?' "I will leave you boys to do your thing" Emiko said shutting the door. Ichiro scanned his visitor with guarded jealousy. He was that rare, effortless kind of handsome. With his lean build and long h

Hitoro dropped his phone and looked at Emiko, who was visibly worried. "What did they say, papa?" She asked curiously. Hitoro heaved. "They promised to find him" he replied. Emiko groaned, throwing a tantrum. Hitoro sighed. "They said that before" she lamented, frowning. "Yes, but we have to wait. Ichiro is an adult, and he's not even been gone a whole day. What did he say before he left for work?" Hitoro asked. Emiko stood and began pushing the wheelchair to Hitoro's room. She clearly didn't want Hina eavesdropping on their conversation, and Hitoro noticed. "Is there something you don't want your mother to know?" He asked, turning his head to look up at her. She rolled her eyes, not giving a reply. Immediately they entered the room, she shut the door and walked to the bed where she took her seat, pinching the nylon satin bedsheet. "He didn't say much, but he gave me a mana crystal before I left for school" she muttered, her head lowered. "Okay..." "A red mana crystal" she

The beast cackled and opened its mouth releasing a massive discharge of miasma. Immediately Ichiro sensed this, he turned the mask on. The miasma was a dense dusty looking purple gas, and in all that purple cloud, Ichiro could barely see. But he could hear, especially the grunting reverbing in the cold echo of the cave. Also no beasts were coming his way, he stood up quickly and stared at his armour, the second shoulder plate was ruined and it happened afterall the crashing into the wall 'One scratch' he reminded himself. He decided to find a way out of the cave on his own using the purple cloud as his cloak. Just as he was about to take the second step, the cloud of purple dispersed in an instant, revealing Kenta a different beast entirely and Geto sprawled on the floor. Ichiro was confused, he looked around with a sense of urgency, he needed to know 'Where did everyone go?'His mind deviated as Kenta's sword clanged with the elbow spike of the beast. That was when he realis