Morning came like it always did, grey light through thin curtains, distant hum of traffic, the soft buzz of his phone somewhere on the floor. David lay in bed staring at the ceiling, the same cracked corner he'd memorized years ago and tried to remember how to move.
The journal sat on his nightstand where he'd left it last night, closed now but still heavy with everything inside. He'd read until his eyes burned, until the words blurred together, until Lucas started texting him worried messages about getting sleep. He'd read about his father's hopes and fears, his mother's laugh, their plans for his future. He'd read about techniques and strategies and the weight of leading a clan.
He'd read about their last days.
The entries near the end were shorter, more urgent. Mentions of suspicious movements, uneasy feelings, warnings from trusted sources. His father had known something was coming. Had tried to prepare. Had failed anyway.
David closed his eyes.
His phone buzzed again and he grabbed it without looking, expecting Lucas's daily barrage of messages. Instead he found Becca's name.
Meeting with my grandmother in two hours. She agreed to the training request but wants to see you first. Pick you up at nine.
David stared at the message.
Meeting with Becca's grandmother again. The old woman with blade-sharp eyes who'd offered him an alliance, marriage, protection. Who'd watched him the way a cat watches a mouse, not with hunger but with patience, waiting to see what he would do.
He'd told her he'd think about it.
Now he was walking back into her territory with a list of ten names in his pocket, ten people she might know, might work with, might be connected to.
Trust was complicated. Trust with people like the Moon Clan was impossible.
But Becca was different, Becca was trying. That had to count for something.
He typed back: Fine.
The response came instantly: Don't sound so enthusiastic.
David almost smiled. Almost.
---
Lucas arrived at eight-thirty with food and opinions.
"Meeting with the assassin grandma again, very bold I respect it." He set containers on the coffee table and flopped onto the couch. "What's the play here? You gonna tell her about the names?"
David sat down across from him. "No."
"Good, because that would be insane. She's probably friends with half those people, or enemies, either way you don't want to be in the middle of that." Lucas grabbed a pastry. "So what then? Just smile, nod, take the training access, get out?"
"That's the plan."
"Plans never survive contact with the enemy, and that woman is definitely the enemy until proven otherwise." Lucas chewed thoughtfully. "Becca's okay though, right? Like she's actually on our side?"
David thought about Becca's face last night, the way she'd looked at him when she said you're worth fighting for. The way her voice had softened, just slightly, when she talked about not having to be perfect around him.
"I think so," he said. "I hope so."
Lucas nodded. "Hope's good. Hope's necessary. Just keep your eyes open, yeah? Assassin family. Even the nice ones are dangerous."
David finished his breakfast in silence, the journal's weight pulling at him from the other room, the list of names burning in his memory.
Nine o'clock came too fast.
---
The hover-car was the same as before, sleek and black with tinted windows and a driver who didn't speak. Becca sat in the back, her expression carefully neutral, but David caught the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers tapped against her thigh when she thought he wasn't looking.
"You nervous?" he asked.
She glanced at him. "I'm always nervous around my grandmother. Anyone who isn't nervous around her is either stupid or dead."
"Which am I?"
"Hopefully neither by the end of this." She paused. "She's in a mood today. Something happened last night, some political thing with another clan. I don't know the details but she was up all night and that makes her sharper than usual."
David filed that away. "Anything I should avoid?"
"Don't react to anything she says. Don't flinch, don't argue, don't agree too quickly. Let her talk, let her watch, give her nothing to work with." Becca met his eyes. "She's going to push you. Test you. Try to figure out what you're really after. The training access is real, she wouldn't offer it if it wasn't, but she wants something in return and she hasn't figured out what yet."
"And if I don't give her anything?"
"Then she'll respect you more and keep pushing anyway." Becca looked away. "That's how my family works. We push until something breaks or bends. The trick is making sure it's never you."
The car descended toward the Moon estate, that beautiful fortress of gardens and hidden weapons and centuries of secrets. David touched his necklace, felt its warmth, and prepared himself.
---
The grandmother waited in the same room as before, seated in the same position, wearing the same expression of mild curiosity masking something much sharper. Becca's father stood behind her, silent as ever, and Kaito was there too, leaning against a wall with that easy smile that probably meant he was watching everything.
"David Ashborn," the grandmother said. "You return sooner than expected."
David bowed, matching Becca's depth, then straightened. "You offered training. I'm here to accept."
"Direct. I appreciate that." She gestured and a servant appeared with tea. David waited, watching the others, reaching for his cup only after Becca's father did. The grandmother's eyes flickered with something like approval.
"Becca tells me you want to master your abilities quickly. That you have reasons for urgency." She sipped her tea. "She didn't share those reasons. I respect her discretion. But I am curious what could drive a boy with two S-ranks to seek training from people he barely trusts."
David met her gaze. "The same thing that drives anyone. Enemies."
"Enemies you already have? Or enemies you're anticipating?"
"Both."
The grandmother smiled, thin and sharp. "Honest, unusual but honest." She set down her cup. "Very well. You may use our training facilities. Becca will supervise, Kaito will assist when needed and my people will evaluate your progress weekly. In exchange, you will make yourself available for certain... gatherings. Events where your presence would benefit the Moon Clan."
David kept his face neutral. "What kind of gatherings?"
"Dinners, mostly meetings with potential allies. Perhaps a public appearance or two." She waved a hand. "Nothing dangerous, nothing demanding. Just your face and name, attached to ours in the public mind."
A transaction. His reputation for their resources.
Becca shifted beside him, almost imperceptibly, but he caught it. She didn't like this part. Didn't like her family using people.
"Fine" David said. "But I choose which events and I leave when I want."
The grandmother's eyes sharpened. "You're in no position to negotiate."
"I'm the only person on Earth with two S-ranks. That puts me in every position to negotiate." David held her gaze. "You want my name attached to yours. I want training and information. That's a trade, not a favor. I'll choose my events."
Silence stretched.
Kaito's smile widened slightly, enjoying the show.
Becca's father's expression didn't change.
The grandmother stared at David for a long moment, then laughed. Actually laughed, a dry rasping sound that held no warmth but also no hostility.
"Becca said you were interesting. She undersold you." The old woman nodded slowly. "Agreed. You choose your events, you leave when you want. In exchange, you train hard, you learn fast, and you show up when I call unless you have a very good reason not to."
David nodded. "Agreed."
"Good. Kaito will show you the facilities. Becca, stay. We need to talk."
Becca's expression flickered, just for a second, then smoothed. She glanced at David as he stood. "I'll find you later."
David followed Kaito out of the room, leaving Becca alone with her family.
---
The training facilities were impressive, David had to admit. Underground levels beneath the estate, reinforced with mana-conducting materials, equipped with everything from basic workout stations to advanced combat simulators. Kaito walked him through each area with the enthusiasm of someone showing off a favorite toy.
"Grandmother's pride and joy," Kaito said, gesturing at a massive open space filled with training dummies and obstacle courses. "She built this decades ago, kept upgrading it every year. Best private facility in the city, probably the whole region."
David looked around. "You train here?"
"Every day since I could walk. Becca too, though she's always been better at it." Kaito leaned against a wall. "She's different with you, you know. Lighter. Less like she's carrying the whole world on her shoulders."
David didn't know what to say to that.
Kaito smiled. "Anyway. You'll have access to everything here. Simulators, weights, combat space, even a small medical bay if you push too hard. Becca will set your schedule, but you're free to use it whenever you want outside of family training hours."
"When are those?"
"Early morning, usually. Before dawn. We're an ambitious family." Kaito pushed off the wall. "Come on, I'll show you the simulator. It's the real highlight."
The simulator turned out to be a circular room lined with projectors and mana conduits, capable of generating holographic opponents that could actually fight back. Kaito demonstrated by summoning a shadow creature that moved like Becca, fast and unpredictable, and spent five minutes dodging its attacks with practiced ease.
"Your turn," he said, stepping out.
David stepped in.
The simulator activated and suddenly he was facing a version of himself, same height, same build, same fire flickering at its fingertips. It attacked without warning and David barely blocked in time, the impact jarring his arms.
For the next ten minutes he fought, learning, adapting, pushing himself. The simulator adjusted, grew harder, forced him to dig deeper. By the time Kaito called a halt, David was breathing hard and his muscles ached in ways they hadn't since the game.
"Not bad," Kaito said. "Rusty, but not bad. A few weeks in here and you'll be a different fighter."
David nodded, catching his breath.
His phone buzzed. Becca.
*Meeting's over. Where are you?*
He typed back: *Simulator. Kaito showed me.*
*Stay there. Coming down.*
Kaito glanced at the phone. "Becca? She's probably shaken. Grandmother can be intense even when she's not trying."
David looked at him. "What did they want?"
Kaito shrugged. "Family stuff. Politics. The usual." He paused. "Look, I like you, David. You're genuine, which is rare in our world. So I'll give you some advice free of charge." He met David's eyes. "My sister has spent her whole life being used by people who claim to care about her. The clan, the family, everyone with an agenda. If you're going to be in her life, be real with her. She deserves that much."
Before David could respond, the door opened and Becca walked in.
She looked fine, composed, controlled. But David had been watching her long enough now to see the tightness around her eyes, the way her shoulders were set just a fraction too straight.
"Kaito," she said. "Leaving."
Kaito raised his hands in surrender. "Leaving. Nice meeting you again, David. Train hard."
He slipped out and Becca stood there, alone with David in the simulator room.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then David said, "You okay?"
Becca's composure cracked, just slightly, just for a second. Then it was back.
"I'm fine." She walked past him into the simulator. "Show me what you learned."
David watched her for a moment, saw the walls going up, the careful distance she was creating. He wanted to push, to ask what happened, to be real with her like Kaito had said.
But maybe pushing wasn't what she needed right now.
So he stepped into the simulator beside her and said, "Kaito summoned a copy of me. Took about ten minutes to not get killed."
Becca's lips twitched, almost a smile. "Amateur. I can do it in five."
She activated the simulator and the copy appeared again, flames ready.
This time, they fought together.
---
Hours later, David sat on a bench outside the training facility, exhausted in a way that felt good for once. His muscles burned, his mind was clearer than it had been in days, and for the first time since the awakening, he felt like he was moving forward instead of just reacting.
Becca sat beside him, equally tired, her usual perfect posture slightly slumped.
"Your grandmother," David said carefully. "What did she want?"
Becca was quiet for a moment. "To remind me of my responsibilities. To make sure I understood that bringing you into the clan's orbit comes with expectations. To tell me that if things go wrong, it'll be on me."
"That's not fair."
"Nothing about my life has ever been fair. I learned that a long time ago." She looked at him. "But I also learned that fair doesn't matter. What matters is what you do with what you have."
David thought about his father's journal, the list of names, the weight he carried.
"I know that feeling," he said quietly.
Becca looked at him for a long moment, something shifting in her eyes.
Then she said, "Show me tomorrow, same time. We'll start real training."
David nodded.
They sat there in the fading light, two people carrying more than anyone should and for a little while it was enough just to not be alone.