The air in the Grand Hall suddenly tasted like salt and crushing depths, thick enough to drown in.
My lungs screamed as if the ocean itself had flooded the room, pressing an unbearable, freezing weight against my chest that made my knees tremble and my teeth ache.
We were still frozen on the polished floors of the Academy's cathedral-like Grand Hall, surrounded by hundreds of recruits who were practically vibrating with shock.
Kyo Harasayuki's cold announcement still echoed in my ears: Squad Seven. Tsume. Ayashi Motoke.The Ayashi Motoke is our new Sensei! I gripped the worn hilt of my wooden sword, my knuckles turning white.
The familiar, rough texture usually grounded me, but against the sheer, monstrous pressure radiating from our new Sensei, it felt like I was holding a pathetic twig.
Ging was hyperventilating beside me, his glasses completely fogged over, while Saki stood rigidly, her red eyes locked onto the lazy man we had completely underestimated.
And somewhere in this massive crowd, the arrogant son of the Academy's director was probably realizing he was stuck with the very same kids he despised. We hadn't even started training yet, and our squad was already a disaster waiting to happen.
Ayashi let out a long, dramatic sigh, plunging his hands back into his pockets. He slouched forward, his terrifying, legendary aura instantly replaced by the scruffy, apathetic deckhand we thought we knew.
"What?" Ayashi drawled, looking at our pale, shell-shocked faces. He offered a half-hearted, lazy shrug. "Isn't this great? You kids get the privilege of working with a top Elemental Swordsman. Try to contain your excitement."
Ging was literally clutching his chest, his breaths coming in short, reedy gasps. "I... I think my soul just left my body," Ging wheezed, pushing his crooked glasses up his nose with a violently trembling hand. "I'm still struggling to process the fact that you aren't just some guy who mops the deck. And now—" He swallowed hard, his voice cracking. "Now we're stuck with Tsume?!"
Saki's posture remained rigidly at attention, though the glowing red of her eyes seemed to sharpen with cold irritation. "The logic of this group is very flawed," she stated bluntly. "His presence is highly volatile. He is arrogant, undisciplined, and annoying to be around. Putting us in the same squad is a tactical error that will inevitably lead to internal sabotage."
Ayashi scratched the back of his neck, looking incredibly bored by their complaints.
"Enough with the nerdy talk. You're just gonna have to deal with it, kids. You think out in the field you only get to fight beside people you like? This is a business of survival. I've shed blood and cleared Sound Lurker nests beside swordsmen I absolutely despised. A petty rivalry didn't stop me from completing the mission, and it's not going to stop you."
"But why us?" I pressed, stepping forward. My knuckles were still white as they gripped the hilt of my wooden sword. "Kyo Harasayuki isn't stupid. He has to know Tsume and I have been at each other's throats since the docks in Tokyo. So why would he deliberately force us together?"
"Yeah, exactly!" Ging squeaked, hiding slightly behind my shoulder. "Why us?"
Ayashi stopped scratching his neck. His lazy demeanor shifted, his dark eyes sweeping the crowded Grand Hall to ensure no one was eavesdropping on our little corner.
"Get in close," Ayashi murmured, his voice dropping to a gravelly, serious whisper. "I'll make this brief, and I'm only going to say it once."
We instinctively huddled together. Ging shuffled nervously to my left, Saki stepped in silently on my right, and Ayashi leaned forward, casting a heavy shadow over the three of us.
"I requested you," Ayashi said quietly.
Ging blinked, his mouth falling open. "You requested u—"
"Shh. Let me finish," Ayashi interrupted, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument. "I was there in the Main Hall. I was enjoying the buffet dinner. I watched all of you guys."
My eyes widened. He had seen everything.
"I saw what happened with the silver-spoon prince," Ayashi continued, his intense gaze locking directly onto mine. "I watched you stand up not just for yourself, but for Ging, against three recruits.
You looked exhausted, and I'm sure you knew you were entirely outmatched, Shujinko. You knew you were going to take a brutal beating. But you stood up for Ging anyway, without a single second of hesitation for your own safety."
He paused, the ghost of a real, genuine smile touching the corner of his mouth. "It's rare. Too many swordsmen these days fight for glory, or money, or a higher rank. It disgusted me enough to step away from teaching. I only want to train recruits that this broken society actually needs. People who protect the weak. You and your squad? You've got the right foundation."
I let out a slow breath, the tension finally leaving my shoulders. I gave him a firm, grateful nod.
"That explains us," Saki interjected, her tone completely devoid of emotion, cutting right through the sentimentality. "But it does not explain Tsume. You watched him assault both Ging and Shujinko. Why accept him into your squad?"
Ayashi's faint smile vanished instantly, replaced by a hard, cynical grimace.
"Because I didn't have a choice," Ayashi muttered bitterly, glancing up toward Kyo on the distant podium.
"Kyo only gave me one option if I wanted to return as an instructor. We made a deal behind closed doors.
I get to train Shujinko and his hand-picked squad... but only under the absolute agreement that I train his son, too."
Before Ayashi could explain the terms of his deal any further, the dense crowd of recruits surrounding us suddenly parted like the Red Sea.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed sharply against the marble floor.
My hand instinctively shot back to the hilt of my wooden sword. Ging let out a high-pitched whimper, quickly shuffling entirely behind Saki. Saki didn't even blink, though the temperature in our little circle seemed to plummet.
Stepping into the clearing with a sickeningly arrogant smirk plastered across his face was Tsume Harasayuki. His pristine dark-blue uniform somehow looked sharper and more tailored than everyone else's.
He stopped a few paces away. His cold, pale eye swept over Ging and me with utter disgust before landing softly on Saki. Instantly, his arrogant smirk morphed into an attempt at something charming.
"Hello, new teammates." Tsume shifted his gaze to Ayashi, offering a curt, respectful nod. "New Sensei."
Ayashi simply nodded back, his hands remaining buried deep in his pockets.
Tsume immediately tilted his head, locking his cold, pale eyes entirely onto Saki. "We even have the girl who stepped up to defend you two," he purred, completely ignoring Ging and me. "Did you miss me? Because I definitely missed you, Saki. I have to admit, your little stunt back at the cafe... I like a girl with some strength."
"And I prefer a boy who isn't a pathetic waste of oxygen," Saki replied flatly. Her deadpan tone cut through the tense air like ice.
Tsume's eye twitched, but he quickly masked his bruised ego with a small, malicious smile. "Yikes. I was just trying to be nice," he said, holding his hands up defensively.
"Look, I'm not here to cause any problems. I don't want to be partnered with you guys just as much as you don't want to be partnered with me. We can all just pass the exams, leave, and none of you will ever have to see me again."
Ging balled his trembling hands into fists. "Not after everything you—"
"Look, just give the kid a chance," Ayashi interrupted, lazily draping a heavy arm over Ging's shoulder to stop him from stepping forward. "You're going to have to work with him for the rest of your time at the Academy anyway. Might as well start learning how to get along now."
Tsume's smile widened into something dangerously smug. "Yeah. I promise I won't bite."
Ging's eye twitched violently behind his crooked glasses. Saki and I exchanged a brief, skeptical glance before looking back at the director's son.
"I'll work with him, as long as he agrees not to be disgusting," Saki stated.
"I agree," I added.
The three of us turned our expectant gazes to Ging. He had his arms tightly crossed over his chest, desperately trying to look anywhere but at Tsume. Finally, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Fine."
"Great," Tsume chimed.
Ayashi let out a long, exhausted exhale, looking at the four of us with heavy-lidded eyes. "Let's stop causing such a ruckus. The ceremony is almost over, and then we can finally rest for the day."
We all nodded in reluctant obedience, the immediate threat seemingly defused.
But as Ayashi turned his attention back to the podium, Tsume stepped up right next to me. He leaned in, aggressively invading my personal space, and lowered his voice so only I could hear.
"You think being on my squad means you're safe, Ryomen. But my father isn't gonna help you guys this time." He whispered,
"Neither will that powerful, ravishing girl either." Tsume hissed, "My old man hates me more than ever now,"
"All because of you and that freaking stray."
I could see a tiny tear slowly coming down his eye.
He looked at me, his pale eye glowing intimidatingly into my soul.
"I'm gonna make your lives hell."