I stared at the captain, stunned. How did he sense it? How did he see the black? Only Sensei, Saya, and I were supposed to see that!
I couldn't answer. I stood there, frozen, silent.
"Does Sensei know about this?" the captain asked, his gaze sharper than his sword.
"Yes," I said.
"If he knows, it's probably nothing, but I need to talk to him. I have to understand exactly what I'm dealing with in my team. Until I return, don't do anything stupid to make this worse. Understood?"
"Yes."
The captain leaped down to the street, leaving me on the rooftop, reeling. I'd been an idiot, using *Shinkai* without considering the consequences. But what was this captain? He wasn't ordinary—not even close. Was he on Sensei and Saya's level?
"Come down here! What are you doing?" the captain called, standing in the street with Hayama and Kirishima.
I jumped down quickly, landing beside Hayama. The three of us lined up before the captain, who looked ready to say something important.
"All three of you are exceptional and strong," he said. "Any one of you could handle a mission solo if we needed to split up—a rare advantage. But teamwork is what matters most. Most missions, you'll tackle together, so unity is key. I have business to attend to, so I'll be gone tonight. I won't be back until the morning after tomorrow. We'll hold a remote meeting to discuss the victim and how you'll handle the situation. You'll need to enter their psyche to address it. I planned for you three to fight me together, but we'll do that next time. My phone's ringing—I have to go. Keep training, or do whatever you want. Obviously, you can't return to the physical world until sunrise. You're official Muma hunters now, responsible for this district. Hayama, you're in charge while I'm gone, as we agreed."
"Understood, sir," Hayama said.
The captain vanished, returning to his physical body, leaving us standing there.
"I'm training alone to work on my new ability," Kirishima said.
"Okay, do what you want," Hayama replied.
Kirishima leaped onto a rooftop and vanished quickly.
"What's the plan?" Hayama asked me. "Keep training, patrol the district, or just mess around since it's our first day?"
"Your call. The night's long—we can do all three," I said.
Hayama and I trained more, then played basketball, baseball, and a few other games for hours. I was genuinely happy. How long had it been since I'd hung out like this with someone, like a real friend? It felt strangely exhilarating.
As sunrise approached, ending our first official night, Hayama and I sat on the city's tallest building, taking in the stunning view—the sea, the forest, the mountains, and the city below—waiting for dawn.
"I'm studying online too," Hayama said. "It'll let me work full-time during the day. Distance learning's cheaper, and I can cover the fees that way."
"What job?" I asked.
"The captain said he'll hook me up with something well-paying. I'll probably start next week. He mentioned Kirishima asked him to find her a part-time gig too."
"Really? I'm gonna work too, but I don't know what yet. I'll call Sensei later to ask."
As dawn's first light appeared, we returned to our physical bodies. Staying in our spiritual forms during the day is forbidden—bad things happen if we do.
I woke in my room and grabbed my phone. It was already morning in the capital, so I called Sensei immediately.
"Settled in that fast?" he said.
I told him straightaway what the captain said and what happened, my heart racing. "Has he contacted you? I think he's coming there!"
"The captain? You mean Haru?" Sensei laughed. "He's already here, sitting with me having breakfast."
"What?!"
"Don't worry, I've talked to him. Just focus on starting classes. I'll send you your account details tomorrow for online study."
I sighed in relief, calming down, and said, "By the way, were you really my sister's boyfriend?"
Sensei paused, then said, "I can't talk now. We'll catch up later. You'll start work soon—get ready." He hung up.
After a night in my spiritual body, where my mind is sharper, and while my physical brain rested, I processed everything. From the manga I'd read, many girls ruin their lives picking the wrong partner, living miserably. But my sister was happy. Sensei must've made her happy, and he clearly loved her deeply, grieving her loss so intensely. His sister, Saya, was her friend, so she probably set them up. I wasn't angry anymore. Why had I been upset to begin with?
Time to explore the hotel. For our spiritual bodies to stay strong, our physical ones need to be too. I headed straight to the gym.
It was massive, with every piece of equipment I could want—and the person I wanted to see. Kirishima was there, running on a treadmill, wearing the same outfit from last night. I could write a million words about her beauty and still fall short.
The gym was empty—just her and me.
"What are you staring at?" she said, catching my eyes in the mirror.
I hopped on a treadmill far from hers and started running. Minutes later, someone took the treadmill next to me—Hayama.
"The whole team's here," he said.
"Looks like it," I replied.
"Let's run outside next time. The sea and forest path is perfect."
"Yeah, I was thinking that too. Tomorrow?" I wanted to see her, but training with her here was tough. Thank god Hayama showed up—I was nervous.
"Got plans today?" Hayama asked.
"Nope."
"Wanna come with me to the university? I registered for online classes and need to finalize the paperwork before work starts."
"Sure." I glanced at Kirishima occasionally while talking.
Hayama laughed. "You into her?"
I snapped my gaze forward, embarrassed. "No, I was looking out the window."
"Didn't you want to slap her hours ago? Now you want her?"
I laughed, dodging the question.
"Forget her necklace again? She's devout—look at the size of it. It's there so everyone knows to stay away."
"Do they ban love too, along with touching or anything before marriage?"
Hayama laughed. "You can't convince me you're after 'love.' You're tall, good-looking, and we'll get paid soon. We're heading to uni—you could get a girl's number there. She'll let you visit her room eventually."
"I used to think I liked older women before I saw her. I didn't believe in love at first sight. I was even pissed at her, but she's changed my mind about that too."
Hayama shook his head, laughing. "You'll change your mind again when you see the uni girls."
We finished running, and I stopped before Hayama and Kirishima—they were fitter than me, despite my pro-athlete-level stamina. We did some weightlifting, then each returned to our rooms to shower and change.