Saito sat in the teacher's desk at the head of the Hunters Club room, flipping through a newspaper. "Another one went missing..." he muttered, reading over another missing person report that was destined to become a cold case. He just hoped he'd be able to get the prospects in shape in time for the coming storm. But, he wouldn't scare them with that just yet. "Let's see, looks like we've got quite a hodge-podge," he said to himself as he looked over the roster of new students that were supposed to show up today. He took every measure in his power to make sure they wouldn't have an excuse to skip. There was a message at the end of classes over the loudspeaker directing all the members to report to the club room, and he put a big, vibrant sign on the door. There was no way anyone could miss it.

Knock, knock, knock. "Hey, is this that weird Hunter club thing?"

Saito put the paper away and called back, "Yup. Come on in." In stepped a scrawny-looking boy with glasses and an oversized bookbag. "Alright, so you must be..." Saito scanned his roster, but didn't see the boy's face.

"Yuichi Sakagami. Treasure hunting extraordinaire!" The boy beamed, but Saito gave him a blank expression.

"Mmm, sorry. We're not that kind of hunters. Also, membership is exclusive. We've already scouted everyone who's club material. I'm sure you'll find another club that suits you better." The boy gave a dejected expression, but Saito didn't have time to console every confused student that couldn't begin to fathom what they were stumbling into. The boy was about to object, but Saito's utter disinterest seemed to be enough to stifle his arguments. So, with a sigh, the boy left.



Many people would find a new school with new people exciting. It was a chance to get a fresh start, to put your best foot forward, and let people see the new and improved you. At least, that's what Ayame's parents kept telling her. But, her parents didn't have a creepy... something... hovering around them, making even the simplest conversations awkward and nerve-wracking. She tried making friends today, she really did. But, when she approached one of her classmates at lunch to introduce herself, she ended up startling the girl and getting a bunch of weird looks. So, eating quietly by herself it was. The rest of the day went by in a slog, and she just wanted to hurry home and water her flowers, but the loudspeaker reminded her that there was something else she had to do first.

She found the room with little difficulty and saw a boy huffing and grumbling as left the room. "Well, that's welcoming..." Ayame muttered as she slowly stepped into the room. There were no decorations, no other students, no welcome signs. Just an older boy sitting at a desk reading a newspaper. "Umm, hello? I was told I should come here. This is the Hunters Club right?"

Saito looked at the girl, checked his roster, and then gave her a big smile. "Ah, Ayame. Glad you could make it. Take a seat. Once all the others are here, I'll explain everything. Just try to relax. Things will make a lot more sense to you after the meeting."

Ayame took her seat and smiled a little. The boy at the desk seemed a little weird, but a little weird was probably the only place she'd be able to fit in. Maybe today wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

---

Kaito had spent most of the day just reading his latest novel while more or less ignoring the people around him. Including the teachers. He had already pretty much decided that he wasn't really going to participate in class very often. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn, but that he had already looked over and studied everything important. As for making friends, that could wait until he got to this 'Hunters Club' he was supposed to join. If no one there would make any kind of good friend then he could probably find someone somewhere... or better yet actually spend the extra time preparing for his return trip to China like he had originally planned before he got the letter from this school.

As Kaito got up to leave class, his teacher coughed and said "Kaito, please don't walk on your hands in school...". Kaito shrugged and flipped forword a couple of feet, landing just a little bit bow legged and slouched over. "And stand up strait!" Kaito rolled his eyes at the last bit and just continued on his way. Apparently he was supposed to go to this 'Hunters Club' after school in order for him to stay here. Hmm... where was that again? Looking around he saw a sigh proudly, brightly, and painfully telling him which room it was in. As he stood there looking at it he heard some voices from inside...

Kaito sighed, Grabbed a windowsill to lift himself parallel to the ground for a bit, and mumbled, "I should just walk away, that sign is not one to be trusted." After scratchinghis chin and looking at the room a bit more however, he decided that the sign must have been designed but some overeager underclassman wanting to make her upperclassman happy. It most definitely couldn't have been made by the person leading the club. Having forced himself to that conclusion he set himself back down on the ground and walked in.

"Hey, nice sign."

Alice had been walking around school with a big smile on her face. Her parents seemed to have left early in the morning, so there were no arguments or negative vibes in the house when she woke up. All the classmates we're quite Nice to her, but she was used at being alone. That's why all the conversations were mostly superficial. She wanted to have at least one close friend, but it would need time for her to get used to it. When they had a nice, happy conversation, it didn't take effort. But when they started getting negative, she got distracted.

She was hopping in the hallways, looking excited at how everything looked and made her really feel home. "Oh yeah, I need to go the club right now, I think." Walking to the club, her eyes go back and forth to not miss a thing. It would be perfect if she could go outside at the moment, but she still was at school. In her head she was dreaming about what she would do if she went to the garden after school, until she reached the sign. "It is such a happy sign!" She went inside and went to take a seat beside a boy that was also seated. "Hey, I am Alice!" she said with a big smile. (@Raging Fenrir)

Today had gone really well, hadn't it? Brothers and sisters sent off to school without so much of a fuss and she had so far had nothing but good things to say about her new school. She had already made a few friends, and the teachers seemed just as lovely. She'd normally be heading home already to make sure all her brothers and sisters were taken care of, but one of the requirements of going to this school was to join a club. Suzue had never been in one before. Never had the time to herself to really consider it. She was honestly a little concerned, not for herself or the club, but that she wouldn't be able to return home in time to take care of things.

Ah...perhaps this is what her closest sister meant when she said she worried too much and needed to relax more? Suzue sighed, shaking her head as she walked along the hallway, small box of brownies cradled in her arms. She had made some brownies for her siblings last night and made a few too many extra so she had decided to bring them to the club. Oh well, no sense in worrying about such things.

"Ah..." Upon seeing the sign, Suzue giggled lightly. Someone had a lot of enthusiasm. That was good. Walking into the room, Suzue echoed the thoughts of two of the others. "Haha, someone certainly did put a lot of work into it." She mused happily, taking a seat near the delinquent looking boy, placing the tray on the table.

"Hello everyone, Suzue Yamazaki. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." She opened the container of brownies and motioned to them. "Uhm~ I made a bit extra, so I decided to bring them. Help yourselves." She seemed to eagerly await someone eating one.

---

A new school, a place to meet new people, hopefully ones that you could get along with. Apparently that wasn’t the case for one girl. Nova had already spoken to a few of her classmates, but none of them had really clicked with her. Sure, she was able to hold a friendly conversation with them, but in her opinion, none of them were really people she’d get along with well. She sighed, slumping down in her seat. The class itself wasn’t really important for her to pay attention to, as she already knew quite a bit about the topic.

After packing up her things at the bell, Nova headed towards the club rooms, resigning herself to meeting even more strangers. If it were left up to her, she’d be at her house by now, reading a book in a tree while her brothers were out playing. Unfortunately, one of the conditions for her to attend the school was to participate in a club, one named the ‘Hunters Club’. Looking around, she spotted a bright, overdone sign with the name of said club on it.

“How nice.” Walking into the club room, she noticed quite a few people were here already, including a girl who had announced her willingness to share her brownies. Everyone there looked fairly interesting, giving her second thoughts about not enjoying the place. She smiled, walking over and taking one before sitting in a free seat nearby. “Thank you very much Suzue. I’m Nova Flinn. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

It was the beginning of a whole new school year. And more importantly, a new school environment. The Himikai Academy, one of those prestigious education establishments that were hard enough to get into that just about every attendee was proud of it. The kind of school Akio wouldn’t have even thought about getting into. But seeing as the opportunity practically presented itself, why wouldn’t he take it? The few ex-classmates he still kept in contact with, people that went to different schools now, had been rather jealous of him when they learned he'd been scouted by such a good school. The mysterious club he was to attend was just a bonus.

Akio did not believe that he would manage to keep in contact with his previous school-mates for long. The only thing they had had in common was the classes they had visited and some hobbies. Well, mostly gaming. Akio imagined it would be similar here. He would eventually find someone who was into art or video games or perhaps even hiking, and they would become something like friends. When high school was over…That was honestly too far away to consider.

All that Akio wanted from this academy was to develop his artistic abilities, specifically to learn digital art. He could and did dabble based on just free internet lectures, but it wasn’t the same as having a proper instructor. And whether he had to apply himself at schoolwork, be diligent in completing his homework, preparing for tests, or attending the enigmatic Hunters club, Akio was determined to succeed. As such, he spent the day attentively listening to lectures and taking notes as neatly as he could. During the lunch period, he attempted to unobtrusively insert himself amongst a group of class-mates. They introduced, and Akio mostly listened as they chatted about their first day and such.

The day proceeded similarly until the classes ended. It was now time to find the Hunters club, and he was quite surprised there was such an obvious announcement about it. Finding the club room was rather simple too, the obnoxiously bright sign loudly announcing its presence. The pale black-haired teenager entered the club room, finding several members already present. A taller, older, green-eyed boy sat at the teacher’s desk and was probably the club’s leader. Akio nodded at the older teen in greetings politely, then ambled further inside.

He noticed a girl had brought brownies with her, and another had already taken one. Figuring they were meant for sharing, Akio approached the girl with strangely violet-coloured eyes, and slowly stretched his arm towards a brownie, so as to see whether she’d reprimand him from trying to take one. That didn’t seem to be the case however, and so Akio successfully grabbed one. “Thanks,” he said quietly to the girl. He took a bite out of the brownie and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s good,” he commented. “I’m Akio Nagasawa, by the way,” he introduced himself, somewhat awkwardly, then made his way towards a table, and took a seat. He set his school-bag under the table, munching happily on the brownie while he waited for the club meeting to start, mostly keeping his attention on the boy he figured was their president.

---

Akira yawned as the end bell rang, so far Himikai Academy didn’t seem too different from his old school, which was a bit disconcerting considering he got in by a suspicious letter. Offering a scholarship for entering a hunters club. Now it would be one thing thing if he was some sort of super genius wiz kid, but he was an infamous delinquent known for sending a small army of other punks to the hospital and only getting at best, averages grade, not qualified for one of the top academies by any means. For that matter what kind of school had a hunters club and what kind of person would enjoy shooting animals, god damn savages. Despite all this, it was rather normal, albeit being a good step up from his old school. Well no use thinking about what happened. He he was here and he wasn’t going to get into a better school than Himikai, that’s for sure. The hunters club probably just needed a genetic freak like him to haul the kills, probably nothing more than that. Akira got up from his slouched sitting position and made his way out the door.

Akira found the hunters club in a matter of moments, the obnoxious and ugly sign outside was a dead give away. Akira put his hand on the door before sliding the door open with such force, it made a thundering crack and slight shockwave causing a vibration to engulf the room for just a moment.

”Ah, used too much strength. Sup, name’s Akira Yamamoto.

Akira gave an friendly grin to go along with his introduction. Though with his face it appeared less of a ‘nice to meet you’ kind of grin and more of a ‘I’m gonna stab you and watch you bleed’ kind of grin. Akira made his way inside and took a brownie, which he wordlessly ate until it was small enough to toss in to his mouth.

”To whoever made this brownie, mind exchanging recipes, these weren’t half bad.”

Today was a brand new school year, at a different school, in a completely different country. See Aiden hasn’t attended school in Japan since kindergarten. So his only knowledge on Japanese schools derive from jdramas, anime and stories his mother told him when he visited during Summers. Most people make sure they are completely prepared for days like this. But not Aiden. In fact, he completely forgot today was his first day of school. He arrived at school at an ungodly hour and received an excruciatingly long lecture from a teacher about Himikai Academy’s student expectations. Luckily He got let of the loose since it was his first day and his stunt helped him make a few new friends.

The school bell rang and Aiden began to pack his things to go home. However an announcement reminded him that he still had something to do. Attend the Hunters Club. Aiden briskly made his way to the club room and smiled at the blinding colourful handmade sign he was greeted by. He loved it when people put time and effort into creating something. Even if the creation was... well... damaging to your retinas.

Aiden opened the door gave the people inside a toothy grin. “Pleased to meet you everyone! My name is-” a sweet sensation shot his nose. His eyes widened as he noticed the container. “Brownies!” he dashed to the table at record speed and scooped up a brownie without hesitation. When the piece of chocolate goodness entered his mouth, he swooned in delight. “What the heck, how can food taste like heaven?” He said in ecstasy before realising he forgot to introduce himself. “By the my name is Aiden, Aiden Cross.”

Sora Ikeda was adjusting to his situation about as well as good be expected given his circumstances. It wasn’t easy attending this school, for many reasons; a new school, in a new city, in a whole other part of the country far away from a home he never intended on leaving so soon. Yeah, he was doing just fine.

Aside from the fact that he was moving from middle school to high school the classes weren’t too different from those back home; for being a prestigious school he didn’t think things were any different than they would have been had he attended high school back home. Well, that wasn’t entirely true; the class size was larger, as was the school and even the city itself, and everything was new and shiny. A far cry from the ancient and run down school building with out-dated equipment and resources he was used to. He was just a country hick after all, moving from a small town in the middle of nowhere to the big city.

It would be hard for him to pursue any of his hobbies here, if he would even have had time to, and the drabness of the place was already wearing him down.

Not for the first time he wished he had his parents here to support him, though he fully understood that coming with him wasn’t feasible; moving the whole family halfway across the country on short notice wasn’t a burden he wanted to place on them anyway. They had helped him find a small apartment with a landlord who was willing to rent to a minor living by himself and they were paying the rent as well, so he couldn’t complain. He’d had to get a part-time job to pay for groceries and luxuries himself but he had no problem pulling his own weight to help his own situation; he’d have to work extra hard to fit his work responsibilities around his schoolwork and club activities, whatever they were, but he could manage. At least with his bike he shouldn’t have much trouble getting around.

All in all, Himikai Academy was not a place Sora would ever have chosen to attend. Even with its prestigious reputation and claims of scholarly excellence for its students the distance, the location, the sheer difficulty of even attending would have been enough to dissuade him from accepting their offer.

But he had to, when he heard about the ‘Hunters Club’.

Sora had never heard of Himikai Academy, he had never applied there or even thought about applying to a school anywhere near it. Yet he had been accepted there. Sora was not dumb but he was no genius either; his test scores were hardly anything to brag about on the national rankings. Neither was he particularly athletic; his tiny school barely even had any sports teams and no accolades to boast of. Even if they did he wasn’t a part of any team so why even mention it.

Simply put there was no reason why anyone should know who Sora Ikeda was, let alone see anything special in him. So why had a prestigious academy located in a city miles away from him seen fit to seek him out and offer him what must have been one of the few opening available? More specifically why had an association with an ominous name like the ‘Hunters Club’ taken an interest in him and why did a simple student club have enough clout to request he be accepted?

There was only one thing ‘special’ about Sora and the fact that that might have had something to do with his admission was troubling.

His parents were worried. So was he. How had anyone found out about ‘that’ little titbit of information and why were they interested in it? What did this ‘Hunters Club’ want with him, or should he say people like him? What would happen if he accepted their offer? What would they do to him or his family if he rejected it?

Sora had accepted the invitation to attend this school most because he had felt that he had no choice, but he would be lying if he didn’t also feel a small amount of curiosity. After classes had ended he found himself standing outside of the clubroom, helpfully sign posted by a garish sign, steeling himself for the encounter he had been dreading ever since he had started packing his stuff into boxes.

Opening the door Sora walked into a room with more occupants than he had expected. They all looked like normal students like him and were all either milling around or eating brownies; it wasn’t exactly the atmosphere he had anticipated. It seemed… normal. At the back of the room, seated behind a desk was an older student with a sheaf of papers in front of him; presumably the club president or whatever the term was.

Not in the mood to make friends or exchange pleasantries Sora slipped quietly into the room and took a seat in an empty chair.

At first there was an awkward silence as Ayame looked around the empty room. For a moment, she had a sinking feeling that no one else would show up. It would just be her and an upper classman in a school she was completely unfamiliar with. She fidgeted nervously as the club president hid his face behind a newspaper, but then, to her relief, the door opened once more. It was an unkempt looking boy with white hair. He seemed odd, but friendly, which was good enough for Ayame. Hopefully he didn't want to sit in dead silence like the other boy. She gave a timid smile and waved as Saito checked the roster.

"Yup, Kaito. Have a seat. Glad you could see the sign. I don't want anyone to waste time looking for the place. I'll explain everything once everybody else is here." With that, he went back to reading his paper, giving the others the same curt greeting as they arrived one by one.

Ayame felt more at ease as the others arrived. A cheerful girl who also seemed to like the sign, and then another who came with an offering of brownies. "Hi, Suzue. I'm Ayame," She said as she picked up a brownie and took a bite. Immediately, her mood did a 180. Home-made brownies were just what she needed to turn her day around. "You made these yourself? They're so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing." She wasn't sure why, but the crowd that was gathering here didn't seem put off by her at all. It was like they were blind to whatever odd sensation everyone else saw in her. Either that, or they were used to it... She didn't even care what the club activities were be. If it gave her a chance to make friends, she was in. With each new member, she introduced herself even more cheerfully, starting to feel like her old self again.

Then she nearly jumped out of her seat when the door flew open with enough force to rattle the room. The boy apologized for using "too much strength" and introduced himself politely enough, but he had the look of someone who had seen his fair share of trouble. Everything about him screamed delinquent. But, Ayame forced herself to smile back and return the greeting. She knew what it was liked to be judged, and she was not about to become a hypocrite.

Saito, however, had no problem judging this boy. "Yeah, it'd be super-cool if you didn't break anything. I fought tooth and nail to get us a nice room, so let's not be a bull in a china shop, okay?" Saito was completely undaunted by Akira's show of strength or menacing grin. He'd seen toothy maws a thousand times worse than anything this kid could produce as he was now. He remembered reading about Akira's violent history and wondered if he'd need to discipline this one. But, for now, he decided not to scare off the other new members with a more overt show of aggression.

Once everyone was seated, chatting, and gorging themselves on brownies, Saito checked his watch and cleared his throat. "Alright everyone, settle down. It's time to begin the first meeting of the Hunters Club." He got up and stood in front of the desk, getting a good look at everyone. God, they looked so meek and carefree. Part of him wondered if this was a mistake, but he quickly pushed aside those doubts. They still had time to learn and grow. That's what this club was for. There would be time to panic later if things didn't go well.

"Alright, where to start..." He paced back and forth a couple of times, thinking of how to address the club. He must have written out a dozen drafts of the speech he wanted to give, but now, standing in front of a group of people all staring at him, looking for answers. All those carefully crafted words just seemed to slip away. Whatever, he'd just have to go for it. "I'm Saito Ryuuji, and the reason you've all been chosen for this club is because you're all like me. You've all seen things, heard things, and felt things that everybody else around you seemed to ignore. Stuff you've been told is just your imagination, or a trick of the light, or some other bullshit excuse. Well, everyone in this room knows that those things are real, and I'm gonna help you make sense out of it. Sound good?"

Saito paused and looked around, gauging everyone's reaction. Hopefully there wouldn't be any freakouts before he showed them the scary stuff. "Most of that stuff is harmless. Aimless spirits passing through. Kappas that wandered a little to far down stream. Or a ghost that too scared or confused to pass on. We bump shoulders, and both continue on our way. However, there's also stuff out there that's not so harmless. I'm sure you've heard stories of..." He paused. Remember, you're trying not to scare them. "...Well, one term people like to use is 'Spirited Away.' When that stuff shows itself, we hunt.

"Now, before you guys panic, there's a reason you have been picked for this. We're a rare breed, one in a million. Everyone in this room is equipped with abilities beyond that of a normal human. Some of you have already scratched the surface..." He glanced at Akira. "And some of you will need that power coaxed out of you. Don't worry, I'm gonna help you learn to discover and control your abilities. When I'm done with you, you'll all be certified badasses, ready to take on any nasty stuff that's creeping around in the dark. I'll make sure you're all prepared." He just hoped they'd have enough time.

"I'm not gonna lie. At times things might be scary or painful... definitely a bit dangerous. If you ever want out, believe me, I get it. You'll be allowed to leave at any time. You can go back to whatever life you had before and you'll never hear from this club again. But the truth is, you're the only kids in Japan whose powers have surfaced and are ready to be trained. If you leave, there will be no replacements. We've got more seats than candidates, so I hope you'll all try to stick this out with me. One thing this club will give you, though, that you won't get anywhere else is true camaraderie. Nobody in this room thinks you're crazy. You don't have to keep the things you see a secret. And, we're probably all a little freaked out by it."

Saito took a breath and leaned back on the desk. "Alright, I know that was a bit of a bombshell so take a sec to take it all in. Chat with each other, bombard me with questions, whatever you gotta do. We're gonna take this nice and slow." But not too slow. They, unfortunately, didn't have that luxury.

---

"Ah," Suzue clapped her hands in front of her, smiling happily as the other students seemed to enjoy the brownies she had made. "Heaven? Ahaha, you give me too much credit, but I'm glad you enjoy them. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She elected not to eat any herself just for now. She'd already eaten a few and any more would be bad for her weight, so she took a moment to look over everyone else who had showed up for the club. A diverse bunch, weren't they? She had to wonder why they were all here, and what for. Surely this club was something more if it was mandatory for them to join, but whatever it was Suzue couldn't imagine. She had no special skills, aside from maybe housework.

Perhaps this was some sort of special maid training or something, hehe.

"The recipe is a family secret though," She smiled at Akira, tone of voice indicating perhaps slight teasing. "Sorry, but perhaps if you give me something equally as good in exchange?~" A bit of a lie, but she couldn't just give away such a delicious recipe, could she? She might open a bakery and have these as her specialty, hah!

Before she had a chance to see him react though, it seemed the class president was ready to speak about why and what they were all doing here. Suzue listened intently to Saito, curiously listening as she held her hands in her lap. Seeing things that people said weren't real, but were? She had no idea what to make of that. The first impression he had on her wasn't particularly a good one. It wasn't bad, but he was first coming off as a child trying to play make believe despite the passion at which he delivered his words.

He went on to mention so many different things that seemed to make no sense. Kappas in the street? Well, perhaps - there was that one time she ran into something very reminiscent Noppera-Bo, but that was probably just a weird dream. And they were supposed to hunt these creatures? Surely that was a jest. Suzue's warm smile faded lightly as Saito continued to speak. Some part of her wanted to deny this as not being real. It wasn't logical after all, but...

"Oh my...that is quite the mouthful you dropped on us." She offered Saito a smile, laughing lightly. He reminded her slightly of her youngest brother, always going on about seeing demons and spirits and being a hunter and more than often, supposedly saving her in the process. Surely he was just joking as well.

"So tell me then, Saito," Suzue mused. "How would you turn us into certified badasses, hm? I can't possibly leave my younger siblings so defenseless." It was difficult to tell if she was teasing Saito or being serious. Maybe a bit of both.

---

Quite a few more people walked in after Nova, one startling her by slamming the door open quite loudly. The club president didn’t seem too happy about that fact, berating the kid. She was resisting the urge to glare at him herself.

After everyone settled down the club president rose from his position behind his desk. He seemed unsure, which wasn’t a very reassuring sign, but he began to speak nonetheless. Nova sat with a slight frown on her face, which was currently resting on one hand. She wasn’t as sceptical of him talking about seeing real stuff others couldn’t. After all, it was an accurate description of her life. When he began talking about ‘Spirited Away’, she began to become confused. She had never heard of that term before, even when researching the things she saw.
Her frown only deepened when he spoke about them having powers. She supposed it was conceivable, what with all the spirits and Yōkai descent stuff, but she just wasn’t ready to believe that she, out of all people, had ‘super powers’, as her brother would put it. It didn’t really help that he talked about ‘coaxing powers out of them’. It sounded rather ominous to her paranoid self.

She continued to sit in silence until the end of his speech. Certified badass? She certainly didn’t feel anything of the sort right now. More like complete confusion and worry. The kind girl, Suzue, spoke up, voicing some of Nova’s own concerns out loud. Nova nodded, adding on to her question with one of her own.
“What do you mean by ‘coax out’? Also, what exactly are we hunting? You gave us a name, but no description. Say I run into one of these on the street, what am I supposed to do than?”

Aiden idly nibbled on the brownies while he waited for the meeting to start. Thoughts swayed in and out of his head as he tried to follow the small converses around him. He glanced around the room to take everything in and wondered what the club was about. He sure hoped they didn’t actually have to hunt animals. Something like that would be near impossible to do for an animal lover.

Eventually the supposed club learder got up and started to spew words about hunting ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘abilities’ that honestly made no sense. At first, Aiden was surprised to learn that he wasn’t crazy and other people saw the things he did but Saito quickly lost him after that. What in the world did he mean when he said that we were recruited because of our abilities? What abilities? Why should Aiden trust this guy? For all he knew, this could be some sort of elaborate prank.

Two girls spoke out some of their concerns and questions. Aiden nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and how do we know what you’re saying is true?” He inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Akio swiftly finished eating the tasty treat that was the brownie, and, having worked up an appetite, was just sweeping the crumbs off the table to lick them up from his palm, when someone practically smashed the door open. Akio turned to stare at the newcomer, a delinquent looking boy who was much too careless and energetic for Akio’s taste. Saito reprimanded the seemingly violent teen as well, and Akio silently agreed with their president's action. Steadily, other members arrived one by one, and most of them appreciated that one girl’s brownies as much as he did. Unfortunately, as bad as names as Akio was, he didn’t quite remember most of those that introduced themselves. The only fellow club member that stood out to him was the most silent one, a boy who neither offered his name nor took a piece from the still available free food. Akio barely had time to offer the dark-haired dark-eyed boy a glance, when Saito began his introduction.

He started off by telling them that the weird beings they might have seen and the strange situations they have experienced were far from far-fetched figments of imagination. Akio nodded at this; he had never believed himself crazy, even if such lack of doubt was already a suspicious sign. “Everyone else said those things aren’t real,” he muttered quietly, mostly to himself, though anyone close enough might have heard that bit of rambling. Saito then went on with his speech, continuing with how some of these spirits or perhaps demons, were dangerous. And that everyone here was an individual chosen to…fight them. He spoke of power, preparations, training, and danger.

“You want to make us into soldiers!” Akio exclaimed almost as soon as Saito was done with his speech. His assertion wasn’t quite accusing, but it was full of disbelief. After his initial outburst, Akio simply listened to some of the other teens’ doubts and questions, then stated some of his own. “And assuming you are telling the truth, how did you find us if there are so few people like us,” Akio made air quotes at this, not entirely sure what Saito had meant besides being able to see weird things. Well, that, and possibly having some other supernatural abilities, according to the older teen.

“And were you the one who found us or are there also adults in on this? Because no offense but just getting a bunch of high-schoolers to fight…It sounds wildly fantastical and unlikely to do much good.” Then Akio contemplated what the (relatively) confirmed existence of those kind of things that he saw on occasion actually meant. “By the way,” he said, this time with an added hesitation. “Are there actual…other realms? Um, like, the demon world? Though if there’s that, aren’t there gods and benevolent spirits too? Don’t they take care of the things you want us to deal with?” he questioned curiously. And yeah, maybe Saito said that no one would think them crazy, but Akio had the suspicion he might appear that way to some of the others, because he was the one to just spout the craziest of suggestions, so far.

”Please, that kind of door isn’t going to break with just that, trust me.”

Akira stayed as a matter of fact sort of way, which brought up the question of how did he know the exact amount of punishment a sliding door can take, though he didn’t seem like he was going to answer.

”Well, Brownie Girl I’ll take you up on that. I can make a batch of pretty damn good cookies.

Baking didn’t seem like something a a former infamous delinquent would have as a hobby, at least a hobby that they would show off, but Akira “Raging Demon of Tokyo” Yamamoto displayed the hobby proudly. Mostly because no one was going to make fun of the kid who could bench press a vending machine for having feminine hobbies. Akira leaned back knowing he at least had something in common with someone here.

Akira leaned back in his chair listening to the president talking about. Supernatural entities spirits and how they all had some sort of power. Akira looked down at his hand and clenched it. The president gave him a look when he was talking about how some had “Scratched the Surface.” Was he talking about his strength? Well, a creepy club president’s words vs his own doctor’s, he was more willing to bet on his doctor. Though he didn’t really mind if the club president was telling the truth. In the past few months he didn’t feel right with normalcy and unlike most people, he wasn’t that averse to violence. That being said, he still needed proof.

”Well, Mr. Club President.”

Akira mixed in a subtle tone of sarcasm.

”Before answering these questions, you should at least give us proof to back up what you’re saying. Now since you are in this club, that you say can only be joined by people with some sort of special power, then you should have powers as well, right? Show off your power then.”

Letting out a sigh, Sora slumped forward in his seat, elbows braced on his knees as his head hung low. While the rest of the students began to bombard their club captain with questions he remained quiet and unnoticed at the back of the classroom, thoughts swirling through his head as he processed everything he had just heard.

So it was exactly as he had feared. He had been summoned here because of that, the little part of his family history that apparently made him ‘special’, along with everyone else in this room. At least it wasn’t as bad as he had thought; he wasn’t the one being hunted for one thing and if everyone the older student was telling the truth about being like them then his family should be safe as well.

That the things he could see were real and not figments of his imagination was not a revelation, his family had explained that to him long ago, nor was the fact that he was not alone in having this ability, his own mother shared it after all and surely his was not the only family descended from Yōkai. What did give him pause was the idea that they all had abilities that went further than just being able to see more than the average person; the notion that he would have super powers because someone eight generations removed from him managed to have sex with a wood fire was hard to believe. He had never heard anything about it from his mother after all, and she of all people should know such things.

But then, Yōkai were said to possess strange and powerful abilities and he possessed the same blood as them, albeit diluted by time and distance. Maybe it wasn’t such an impossible idea. Maybe this club captain really would be able to bring that power out of them. Maybe, maybe not; either way, from the sounds of it being a member of this club had a price attached to it.

Tuning back in to the conversation in the room Sora listened as the other students expressed their own doubts and concerns. Surprisingly, it seemed like a few of them really were sceptical to the fact that this was all real, others wanted to know more about these supposed abilities and another asked the question that had been burning in his mind ever since receiving his acceptance letter; ‘how did you find us’.

“I really wish you’d told us all this before the school year started; if I’d known what this club was about before I moved here I wouldn’t have bothered.” Speaking up for the first time since entering the room Sora raised his head and focused his gaze on the club captain, but otherwise maintained his slouched forward posture. “Everyone’s asking a lot of questions and I’m curious about the answers to some of them but all I really want to know is this; why should I care?”

It was a callous question, he knew, but one that needed asking. “You’re saying these spirits we see aren’t always benevolent or harmless right? That sometimes they attack or take people away and you want it to be our job to stop them? You want us to risk our lives when we’re just a bunch of kids and some of us aren’t even sure those things we see are real to begin with? Give me one reason why I shouldn’t just go back home.”

"You seem so serious, why don't we just have fun with it and enjoy it? What can be so bad that we have to get so serious about it? I just want to continue my life having fun and not having to worry about some power I am supposed to have. Why train it and suffer on the way?" She stood up from her chair, a bit disappointed from the fact that this club wasn't just about entertaining themselves. Her concentration was gone after the explanation they got, she got distracted from what was going on and was searching inside of the room for something else to keep herself busy with. Looking around she found a painting that was hanging on the wall and which looked like the painter had put a lot of effort in it. Her eyes went from one corner to another and searched for every detail that was there to find on it. Her feet moved closer and closer to the painting until she was so close to it that people needed to look very close to see that she wasn't touching it.

Her knees were moving from the left to the right and her shoulder were following these movements. She was bored by the situation, but enjoyed the thing she found. "This looks soooo good! Who painted this? It has all kinds of colors in it and in all kind of shades! I am curious if the painter has other works too that look as nice as this one!"

---

Kaito almost wanted to laugh. These people? Fight demons, ghost, spirits and the like? How? Unless the powers they gained were far more powerful then he thought they would be whatever organization was setting this up would have been far better off just demon-marking a bunch of fighting priest. If everything he had seen was real then he was sure something like that was possible. Why take a bunch of kids with no training? Yeah,one or two others might have combat experienced, but it isn't like any of them...

Wait, why had he been trained? Yeah his mom and dad wanted him to be prepared for the world but... they couldn't know could they? Unless... what if that dream wasn't a dream? That large Monkey spirit had called him 'son' after all... He felt inside again for that pool of energy he had never been able to tap, and once again he felt as if he had slammed into some wall.

Frustrated with his failure again, and irritated at all of the people around him who, after being called lairs for there entire lives, are now doing the same to the one person who said they were right, doubting him; Kaito bounced out of his seat and did a hand stand on his desk. Walking on his hands, he went from desk to desk over to the girl with the brownies across the room. Dropping the pretty girl with the brownies a wink, he grabbed a brownie and said, "Thanks, Your pretty cute." Then he flipped back on his feet in front of the class and casually leaned up against the door, eating the brownie.

While leaning against the door he looked at Saito and simply said "I'm in. Whether or not we actually follow your lead or not is up for debate, but at the very least this should be fun. And for those questioning why, why not?"

Ayame pursed her lips and paled a bit as Saito went on with his speech. She had seen some strange things, sure, but it was hardly comforting to know that they were all real. It was somehow easier to accept that people just thought she was weird than that there was something -- probably evil -- living inside of her that had been scaring people away all these years. Still, this was the closest she had ever gotten to answers. At least she wasn't the only person hesitant to join up, though. One by one, the other club members voiced their concerns. Some were skeptical, some apathetic, and it seemed like only Kaito was fully on-board.

Ayame looked around and finally spoke up. "Let's at least give him a chance. I'll be honest, all of this sounds terrifying. Knowing that there's something in me, something real that's been scaring people away from me... well, I'd have been happier just thinking I was a weirdo. I can't change what I am. None of us can. But we've got nothing to lose at this point seeing what he can do for us, right? If anything, we can just leave once we've had enough, but I'd like it if we could all stay and be friend." She gave the group a smile. She was feeling uneasy too, but she didn't want to back out just yet.

Saito leaned casually back against the desk as the students, one by one, voiced their objections, falling just short of calling him a fraud. "Whew, you guys are a tough crowd. But, I guess we'll start with the easiest part: the proof." He went behind his desk and pulled out a beat-up gym bag. "I debated bringing an imp or something to school in case you guys didn't believe me, but I figured it'd be bad if it got out, so we'll have to settle for this." He took out a perfectly normal basketball from the back and walked back in front of the desk. "For generations, members of my family have been adherents of the dragon Raigeki. As such, the dragon endowed us with certain powers...

He tossed the ball to Akira, since he was the first to demand proof. "Just so you know there's know trickery, I want you to examine the ball and assure everyone that it's a perfectly normal basketball." And indeed, nothing strange could be found about the ball. It had seen a little bit of use, but is was still in good condition. It felt like a basketball, weighed as much, bounced like one. There was absolutely nothing strange about it. Once Akira was done inspecting it, Saito took it back and rolled his sleeves up all the way to his elbows. "Alright, those of you in the middle aisle are gonna want to move to the side." He gave everyone a moment to shift their desks, tossed the ball up, reeled his arm back, and then punched it.

Upon impact, their was a flash of lightening, and a crack of thunder that shook the room. The windows rattled and anyone sitting in the front row would likely have a ringing in their ears. The basketball burst into several pieces. The bulk of it slammed into the back of the classroom, but a few pieces flew about, one landing dangerously close to the brownies. The rubber, once a bright orange, was scorched and blackened. A putrid steam of burnt rubber rose up from the pieces as the slowly cooled. "There ya go. Proof. Now, for the rest..." Saito let out a sigh and continued.

"Get power, go to a fancy school, save people from monsters. If those three things don't matter to you, then I don't think I can make you care." He pursed his lips and looked around. "I really don't want to scare you guys, but for the skeptics, let me give you a few numbers. From the 1900's all the way to the early 2000's, the rate of hostile encounters with the supernatural was at a steady 1/1000. Only one in a thousand people would encounter something bad, and even then it usually wasn't fatal. However, today that number is at 1/100, and fatalities are becoming more common. If the current projection continues, by the end of the year, that number will be 1/50, and by the time you graduate it will be 1/3. So, if you're cool with 1 out of every 3 people you know running into something nasty, by all means, there's the door." He looked around, trying to gauge everyone's reactions. The last thing he wanted to do was scare everyone away. "But," he continued in a brighter tone. "We're being proactive, so it shouldn't come to that."

"Now, as for your other questions..." He looked up, checking them off one by one in his head. "Gods and devils, yeah, they exist. They just don't always care about our affairs so we've gotta look after ourselves. The organization I work for helps see to those affairs, but the spike in supernatural activity has left us a bit understaffed. We were perfectly equipped to handle a rate of 1/1000, letting people with power naturally stumble into us. But, things are moving more quickly now, so we need to bolster our numbers before it spirals out of control. Unfortunately, due to the nature of our work, we can't just put up a help wanted flier, so we made The Hunters Club. As for how we found you, we've got a psychic. Don't ask me how she does it, cause I haven't got a clue. I just know she's good at her job."

"And, as for how I'm gonna bring out your powers..." He smirked and went back to the gym bag. "I thought that would be a fun first-day activity. Just try not to go to crazy once its awakened. I haven't set up the portal to the dojo yet." He pulled out a stack of small papers that looked like some kind of lucky charm, and a case of sewing needles. "I've done all the prep work for you. Each of these talismans is catered specifically to the kind of power you possess. All it needs is a drop of your blood right on the center. Once you do that, hold it up to your chest and let the energy flow through you. Might be tingly, might hurt a bit, might feel totally different. But, don't worry, it's not going to harm you in any way. It'll just give your powers a kick-start. On the back of the card, there's a little explanation on where your powers are coming from. Easier to do it that way than one-on-one meetings. Now, find the talisman with your name on it, and have fun." Saito sat back down in his chair and leaned back, curious who would be brave enough to go first.

---

Ilyssa had listened carefully to Saito’s speech, filing the information he stated for later. The proof of his abilities was enough to reel her in, even if only for a short while. She was still sceptical that she, out of all people, would be able to fight these evil phenomena, but she chose to take his word for it. It wasn’t like she was just going to stand by while others got hurt.

The explanation ended, she eyed the stack of talismans on the desk. A drop of her blood, huh? Without looking if anyone else was moving forward, Ilyssa stood from her spot, walking to take a talisman. Shuffling through the stack, she found the one with her name written on it. Flipping it over, she read a small paragraph about her ancestry, nothing she wasn’t familiar with.

Onibi, also known as demon flames, are small blue flames that possess the ability to drain the life force from any living creature who happens to fall in their path. Onibi usually are created out of the dead bodies of humans and animals, though it is not known what process causes onibi to develop at some times and not others. Intense grudge and malice from one living person towards some other thing is also able to create onibi. Onibi are usually found more often during rainy seasons. Some Onibi have the ability to take on the form of a small bird.

She gingerly reached out a hand and grabbed a needle. She slowly raised a finger to the needle, a million thoughts racing through her mind. What if this was a scam? They might be trying to curse her, for all she knew. Yes, the guy had neat powers, but what if hers involved her exploding? She backed away from the others, in case that was the case. Deciding to ignore the rest of her worries, she quickly pricked her finger, pressing the pad to the center of the talisman, holding it up to her chest as directed. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then she felt a small tug inside of her, like someone was pulling on her ribs. A tingling began to spread through her, starting from the area where the talisman was resting and spreading out to the rest of her body. It wasn’t pleasant, itchy really, but she didn’t move her hands from the talisman.

The tingling finally reached her hands, which began to shift temperature quickly. One second warm, the other freezing, then back to normal, and lo and behold, a small blue flame flickered in her palm. She gazed at it in wonder, letting it spread over one arm, then shift to the other. A grin slowly began to show, her distrust of the club fading. She looked at the president, giving him a genuine smile.

“Looks like you’ve got another believer. I’m ready to help out, if you truly think I can”