"The true strength of a person is not revealed in moments of triumph, but in times of deepest darkness. When all seems lost, that's when you find the true core of your heart." - Aki Hayashi

The day started peacefully. A cool wind blew through Kyoto, which was unusual for a day in late June. Fifteen year-old Aki Hayashi left his small apartment and stretched. "Last weekend before graduation…" he thought, as he went for a quick walk. He would receive his graduation certificate. He was supposed to attend high school starting next month, but he hadn't been accepted anywhere, leaving his plans for the future uncertain. "What should I do with my future…" he wondered. Aki was a decent and hardworking boy, but the death of his parents during his exam period had often kept him away from school, causing him to miss the chance of being accepted into a high school. That likely meant a year full of boredom, where he would have to make up exams and reapply to high schools. 

But Aki didn't want to think about that right now. After all, he had a weekend ahead of him that he wanted to use for relaxation. As he strolled through the lively streets of Kyoto, he briefly stopped at a convenience store to buy some snacks. Upon entering the 7-Eleven, he noticed a man with a hood who was muttering incoherent words to himself. "I feel sorry for him…" Aki thought as he walked past that man and headed right towards the drinks section. A few minutes later, he was already at the checkout. He placed a couple of rice balls and a bottle of Pokka Lemon Tea on the conveyor belt. In front of him was the strange man from earlier. The cashier scanned the man's items, who was grinning and laughing in a disturbing way. This prompted the employee to place his fingers on the emergency button, just in case something were to happen.

As the last item was scanned, the hooded man suddenly pulled out a knife and held it to the employee's throat. "Give me the money, now." With an eerie, psychopathic calm and a wide grin, the robber waved his knife around while the trembling employee opened the register. Aki froze. His heart raced, and he could hardly believe what he was seeing. "This... this is just a dream!" For a moment, he thought his life was about to end, until he noticed the phone in the cashier's hand. Apparently, the cashier had already dialed emergency services, and the call was still connected. "I see…"

Without thinking, Aki shouted, "Hey! Stop that!" It was as if his mouth had moved on its own. The man turned around and fixed Aki with a crazed look. "Tryin' to play the hero, kid…" he hissed, advancing toward Aki. In that moment, Aki knew he had to act. Hastily, he grabbed a glass bottle from the shelf behind him and held it protectively in front of himself. "Stay back!" he yelled, but his voice trembled with fear. The attacker only laughed mockingly. "You're quite the little hero," he sneered as he came closer. "As an ordinary human, you clearly don't understand the power of these weapons. I'm one of the chosen few who can wield such things, so bow down before one of the chosen ones who will create a new world!" With that, the thief waved the knife around, and the glass bottle in Aki's hands shattered as if it were made of paper. This must have been the power of the strange knife.

Aki immediately took off running, the psychopath close on his heels. In his field of vision, he spotted a shelf full of canned goods. He grabbed a can and threw it with all his might at the shelf behind the attacker. The man abruptly turned toward the noise. While the man was distracted, Aki quietly snuck to the back of the shelf where the drinks were. By the time the robber turned around, Aki was already gone. "Looks like someone got lucky. Whatever, now for the money." With those words, he turned back to the cashier, who began stuffing money into the robber's bag. Quickly, Aki grabbed a bottle of oil and dashed toward the entrance. He picked up an umbrella from the stand and cautiously approached the register again. While the attacker continued to threaten the cashier, Aki poured the oil onto the floor in front of him.

"Hey, here I am!" Aki shouted as the robber turned around again. The man immediately charged at him. "You won't escape me, little hero!" In his haste, he overlooked the oil on the floor and slipped. Although he managed to regain his balance, Aki seized the moment. With all his strength, he rammed the umbrella into the attacker's stomach, causing him to drop his knife. The knife instantly crumbled into dust. "You... bastard!" the criminal screamed, trying to get back on his feet. But suddenly, sirens blared from the streets outside the convenience store. "Damn it!" The man glanced around in panic and ran out of the store. Both the security forces triggered by the alarm button and the police called by the emergency number arrived at the same time. Aki collapsed to his knees, trembling. The cashier rushed over to him. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "Yeah, I think so…" Aki replied slowly, nodding.

Shortly after, the police officers entered the store and took statements from Aki and the cashier. Once everything was settled, Aki left the convenience store and continued his walk. But the experience kept haunting him. "What could have happened...?" he kept asking himself. Finally, he decided to go home and rest.

In the evening, Aki sat in his room, reflecting on the incident. He couldn't forget the man's face or the feeling of fear. The grinning face, in particular, haunted him. "This is the first time I'm actually thankful for being bullied…" The constant bullying had taught Aki how to defend himself and use his surroundings to his advantage in emergencies. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was a message from his best friend. "Hey, are you okay? I heard what happened." Aki sighed in relief. "I'm feeling better now. Thanks for checking in :)" He was grateful to have such good friends. The next school week would start soon, and he was confident that he would soon forget the incident.

But this incident would not go without consequences. The man from the convenience store remembered Aki. And he wasn't the only one who took notice of the case. Another man read an article about the incident on a well-known news website. "His body reacted on its own, huh? I should take a closer look at that boy." Soon, Aki's life would change completely.

The last week of school had flown by. After a relatively uneventful week, Aki and his best friend Hiroto left the school building, their graduation certificates in hand. "Awesome, man, I only got two F's!" Hiroto said excitedly. Aki was surprised that Hiroto spoke so positively about it, considering there were only seven subjects and an F was the worst grade one could get. But in Hiroto's mind, there was only room for women and alcohol. Studying was low on his priority list, so even this dismal report card was an achievement for him. "So, how about you?" Hiroto asked. Aki kept his report card out of sight from others and replied, "Well, I wasn't graded in one subject, and the rest are pretty average." Hiroto lowered his head. "Oh right, I forgot about that. Sorry for asking. I really feel for you. Good luck finding another school."

Aki scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I'm just at the beginning of my search, so it might take a while." Suddenly, something caught his attention. A man was running toward them. Before Aki could react, the guy shoved him aside, grabbed Hiroto, and took off with him. As Aki got up and chased after the kidnapper, he recognized the man's face. The wide grin, in particular, seemed suspiciously familiar. It was none other than the man from the convenience store.

The man once again drew the strange knife out of nowhere and held it to Hiroto's throat. "If you don't want your friend to die here, you'd better come with me." Shocked and reminded of the trauma from the incident a week ago, Aki followed the criminal. They walked through the city until they reached a massive skyscraper - Aki's apartment building. The man simply kicked the stairwell door open as if it were barely closed. "Up," he ordered quietly. Together, they climbed all the way to the top. This time, however, Aki couldn't move. He obeyed the man's every command without resisting. As much as he wanted to fight back like he did in the convenience store, he just couldn't. Why had he been able to do it then, but not now?

Soon they reached the roof of the apartment building. It was at least ten stories high. A fall from this height would be fatal. "W-What do you want...?" Aki asked, filled with a terrible sense of foreboding. The kidnapper responded with a wide grin: "Jump." Aki could barely breathe. He gasped uncontrollably, unable to believe what he had just heard. The criminal repeated himself: "I SAID JUMP!" His patience seemed to be wearing thin. Trembling, Aki took a few steps forward before collapsing to his knees. Paralyzed by fear, he could hardly think straight. A panic attack overwhelmed him.

"I guess you asked for it…" the criminal said, reaching for Hiroto. "AKI!!" Hiroto screamed before the man plunged the knife into his throat and pushed him off the rooftop. The psychopath laughed hysterically as he watched the terrified Aki, who clutched his head in despair. Suddenly, Aki heard voices in his head. "Devil…" one voice whispered. The voice grew louder. "Devil!" As Aki still did nothing, the voice began to shout. "DEVIL!" The screaming repeated itself, each time louder and faster.

"DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!" "DEVIL!"

At some point, Aki cried out in desperation: "NOOO! STOOOOP!" A dark power formed a black circle around him, resembling dark flames. The circle condensed into Aki's hand and merged with it until nothing was left. But it didn't stop there. From his hand, black energy shot out, taking the shape of a massive, rusted sword. Shocked, the attacker dropped his knife. "You... you have one of those things too?" Aki looked up and stared directly at the murderer. His expression was grim. Without saying a word, he slowly approached the man. With a single strike, Aki ended the psychopath's life. The sword then disappeared, and Aki fell to his knees. Just as it started to rain, he looked up at the sky. The rain hid the tears that streamed down his face. "Rest in peace, Hiroto."

Shortly after, a voice came from the small, sheltered area of the roof. "I'm sorry for your loss. I guess I'm too late." Aki turned around and saw a tall man, about 1.80 meters in height, with long, tied-back turquoise hair. The man's left eye was covered by a black eye patch, and he wore a black coat that immediately made the word 'edgy' pop into Aki's mind. Despite his appearance, which suggested he was around thirty years old, the man exuded an aura that spoke of many experiences and stories.

Slowly and cautiously, Aki approached the man and also stepped under the sheltered area, though he kept a safe distance. "It's okay, I won't harm you," the man said, which slightly increased Aki's trust in him. Aki moved a little closer and examined the stranger more closely."I'm not quite sure where to start. You probably have a lot of questions, but I most likely have the answers. Let's go inside for a moment."

After Aki had quickly showered and changed clothes in his apartment, he entered the living room where the man was already sitting, waiting for him. "Alright, I think I should introduce myself first. My name is Yamato. Yamato Orochi. Feel free to call me by my first name. I'm a member of Kenkai." As they shook hands, Yamato began his explanation. "So... the sword you created is called a Module. These are weapons born from the deepest recesses of a person's soul. Each person has their own unique Module. Normal people can't activate or use them, but a few can suddenly activate their Modules during shocking or traumatic events. People like you and that psychopath fall into this category. Some individuals with ill intentions learn how to wield their Modules and use them for evil purposes. That's where Kenkai comes in."

Yamato paused briefly before continuing with his explanation. "Kenkai is an organization responsible for carrying out missions using Modules and eliminating evil Module users. It's important to know that Kenkai consists of one large main unit and five special units. The main unit houses the strongest fighters, who are suitable for any type of mission. The special units are made up of fighters who fulfill specific roles in combat. However, one special unit is different, but we'll get to that shortly." Aki interrupted Yamato with a question. "What special units are there in Kenkai?" This question was quickly answered. "Well... There's Aegis, which focuses more on defense and support. Then there are the Wraiths, who are basically assassins. The Seers are the ones who uncover secrets, scouting enemy bases and locations, looking for weaknesses. And finally, we have the Vanguard, who fight on the front lines."

Aki was confused. That was only four units. But Yamato continued. "The fifth unit are the Sentinels. This is a special unit because it is responsible for training particularly talented fighters for the main unit. I personally lead this unit." There was something about this unit that fascinated Aki. "Sentinels…" he murmured softly. Yamato concluded his monologue. "Now, let's get to the reason I'm here. A Sentinel candidate can only take the exam through the recommendation of a Kenkai member. Out of the hundred people who take the exam, usually only about five candidates pass, as the exam is anything but easy. But I see in you the quality and talent to truly succeed." Aki looked at Yamato. He already suspected where this was leading. Yamato smiled and answered the unspoken question. "Yes, I, Yamato Orochi, recommend you, Aki Hayashi, to take the entrance exam for the Sentinels."

A bright gleam spread in Aki's eyes as Yamato asked if he wanted to participate. He grinned widely. "Yes, I do!" Finally, he had found something to do instead of attending high school. But what made him even happier was the realization that he had a purpose. He was no longer just the average Aki; he had a talent that made him special. This realization lifted his spirits immensely. "Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time. I have some things I need to take care of myself," Yamato said as he headed toward the front door of Aki's apartment. Before leaving, he turned around once more. "Oh, and don't get too excited just yet. The hardest part is still ahead of you. I'll pick you up on September first at ten o'clock. So, take care, Aki." With those words, Yamato left the apartment and closed the door behind him. Aki quickly followed to lock the door, barely able to contain his excitement. He threw himself onto his bed and raised a hand into the air. These holidays would be his last carefree ones, so he was determined to enjoy them to the fullest.

"Did you hear that, Hiroto? I have a purpose!"

Hey! Thanks for reading the first chapter of Akuma!

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