Balance: Chapter 1 - A New World
Haruki awoke to the sound of his alarm blaring, his head heavy with the weight of another restless night. "I fell asleep…" he muttered, dragging himself out of bed. His thoughts immediately drifted to his parents, who were already passed out drunk somewhere in the house. He grimaced. They always act like they're the top of their game, but they're nothing but failures.
He rummaged through his drawers for clean clothes. School was the one place where he didn't have to deal with them—at least until the evening. His father occasionally preached about swordsmanship, but most of his time was spent cheating on his wife or downing alcohol. His mother was no better, drowning her sorrows in drink and spending her nights with other men. Haruki often wondered if love even existed in their world.
"Maybe if I had different parents… ones who'd love me even when I screwed up, things would be better," Haruki murmured as he pulled on his shoes. His thoughts turned darker. But if I mess up here, all I get are their fists. He brushed aside the bitter thoughts, grabbed his bag, and stepped out into the brisk morning air. The walk to school was uneventful, yet Haruki's mind churned. "Man, this is annoying. Why do I even bother coming here?" he mumbled under his breath. The school was an odd mix of elementary and middle school students, and there was always something going wrong.
As he walked through the courtyard, Haruki spotted two sixth-graders picking on a fourth-grader near the vending machines. His blood boiled. "Why pick on someone smaller than you?" Without thinking, he grabbed two apples from his bag and hurled them at the bullies, nailing them both on the back of their heads.
"Who did that?!" one of them shouted, spinning around.
Haruki stepped forward without hesitation. "It was me."
The larger of the two bullies lunged at him, throwing a clumsy punch. Haruki sidestepped effortlessly, sweeping the bully's leg and sending him sprawling. The second bully tried to kick him, but Haruki dodged and returned the favor with a swift strike to the side of his knee. Both boys stumbled away, muttering curses under their breath.
The commotion settled, but Haruki's adrenaline didn't. "I've always been able to see spirits, ever since I was a kid," he thought as he walked home that afternoon. Spirits of all kinds—humans, animals, even strange creatures. Most of the time, they kept their distance.
But today was different. As he passed a quiet alley, a demonic spirit suddenly lunged at him, its twisted form snarling with rage. Haruki froze, his bag clutched tightly, but before the creature could reach him, a figure appeared.
With a flash of steel, the spirit was cleaved in two. Haruki's eyes widened as he saw a girl with black-and-blue hair standing over the fallen creature. She turned briefly, her piercing gaze locking with his, before disappearing without a word.
Hours later, Haruki tracked her down. "Hey! Who are you?" he called out.
The girl turned, her expression softening. "Oh, you're that boy from earlier. My name's Aiko," she said with a faint smile. "And you are?"
"Haruki."
"Nice to meet you, Haruki."Over the next few days, Haruki and Aiko grew closer. She explained her origins: a spirit-human hybrid sent by the Spirit Guardians to train in the magical academy. "Our job is to protect the balance between the spirit and human worlds," she said. "But it's not easy. To graduate, I have to kill five strong spirits. I've already defeated four… but the last one is proving tricky."
Haruki listened intently as Aiko introduced him to the concept of Zetsu—spiritual power that came in three categories: magic, abilities, and weapons.
"Magic is split into elemental, arcane, and manual types," she explained. "Elemental magic controls nature—fire, water, earth, wind. Arcane magic is powerful and often mysterious, including dark spells. Manual magic focuses on combat and support, enhancing physical abilities."
Haruki nodded, trying to absorb it all.
"Then there are Zetsu abilities," Aiko continued. "Like Presence, which lets you dominate or manipulate others, and Enhancer, which boosts your speed, strength, and healing. Finally, there's Manipulation, which allows you to create weapons or tools from pure Zetsu energy."
She paused. "And then there are Zetsu weapons, chosen by the wielder. They're unique, regenerative, and capable of unlocking a power called Zenkai, making their user incredibly strong."Their conversation was cut short when a Yokai—a tall, shadowy figure with jet-black hair—appeared behind Aiko. Without warning, it attacked.
Aiko fought valiantly but was outmatched. Haruki intervened, landing a few blows of his own, but it wasn't enough. The Yokai knocked them both aside, leaving Haruki unconscious.
When he awoke, Aiko was beside him, bruised but alive. "That thing was stronger than I expected," she admitted, coughing.
"Don't go after it," Haruki pleaded. "You'll get yourself killed."
Aiko smiled faintly. "I'll be fine. I promise."
Haruki hesitated but relented. "You better not die," he muttered. Later, Aiko faced the Yokai again, only to be ambushed and captured by its henchmen. Bound in magical chains, she could do little as the Yokai gloated. "Once I absorb your power, I'll destroy the Spirit Realm," it sneered.
Unbeknownst to them, Haruki had followed. With surprising skill, he defeated the henchmen and retrieved Aiko's sword. blind, the Yokai saw him and started fighting with him. Haruki. try to kick her multiple times but it just did work but Aiko got freed and started to attack the Yokai two but we were not winning. We constantly berated her with the attack, but she would just dodge or
counter upper cut me again and I was sent flying in the air. Then she punched Aiko to the floor and she dropped her sword as I was trying to recover. I see three knives I pick up all three through two at the YoKai and kept one and started to attack her with the blade, but it was not working, and we constantly got kicked back, but aiko was saying I'm going to use angels assault Haruki says what is angel assault as he says that aiko jumped into the air. She did three backflips and two front flips getting the height advantage of the Yokai and cut one of his hands off, but she quickly
retaliate and punches her into three walls, her coughing up blood Haruki tries to go check up on her, but the Yokai grabs him and throws him away. The yo guy starts attacking a rookie kicking him three times in the stomach and one time in the face he tries to get up, but he can't until aiko throws her sword Haruki, wielding Aiko's blade, unlocked a dormant power within himself, cutting down the Yokai in a final, desperate strike. As Aiko was tending to Haruki's wounds, she starts saying you have to be more careful sometimes but good job she smiles, while saying this Aiko made a proposition. "Come with me to my world, Haruki."
Haruki hesitated, but the bond they had formed was undeniable. "Alright. Let's do this."
With a flick of her wrist, Aiko opened a portal, and the two stepped into a new world, their journey only beginning. with Haruki discovering a mysterious black sword in a hidden cave. As he reaches for it, a voice echoes: "What do you think you're doing with that sword?"
Haruki turns to see a man smirking. "If you can pick it up, maybe I'll consider teaching you a thing or two."
With determination in his eyes, Haruki grips the hilt, pulling the blade free as a new surge of power courses through him the chapter end