1:30 AM

The foreign exchange student stands, her spear at the ready. Saizo on the other hand slowly circles around. His mind races. He feels pins and needles in his legs.

"(Damn it....I have little to no Ki, which is already pushing it. My hair is still messed up, which means I can't make or drink alcohol to use [Neuropathy Entrope] or [Share the shot]. And I don't have any magic abilities. I hate to admit it but, I should really throw in the towel.)"

Saizo's concerned grimace morphs into a devilish sneer. His heart beats louder.

"(Too bad for me though, I ain't no bitch.)"

He pounds his naked chest with his fist and yells at the girl. "YO. YOU SAID I HAVE TWO MINUTES LEFT BEFORE IT TAKES ME, RIGHT?"

"Mmm...more like a minute and forty eight seconds now but, yes."

He grits his teeth and sneers. "Then I'll just kick your ass in one minute."

The girl steps back, still keeping her spear pointed at Saizo.

"(Tch, yeah. Be afraid.)" He thinks to himself.

Saizo begins to run after the girl with a cocked back fist.

The girl carefully backpedals and sidesteps, always keeping a safe, four foot distance between her and Saizo.

Wildly swinging and thrashing, Saizo gets visibly frustrated. Slowly yet surely, he feels tired, and pained. "Come on you moron, quit being so LAME."

Grimacing, his skin turns into a shade of red.

"[BUR-]"

In an attempt to catch up to the girl and overwhelm her with his brute strength, Saizo's burst of speed immediately rockets him forward with limp, stumbling legs. The girl jumps out of the way, and onto the wall of a nearby building.

"(What the hell?)" Thinks Saizo to himself. He looks down at his legs. His shins crackle, as they slowly yet surely tear apart. He punches the ground in frustration. "(Damn it, my Ki! I know I was low but I didn't think the effect would be this dras-)"

K-CHNK

While Saizo is on the ground, the foreign exchange student bounces from the side of building and straight into Saizo's ribcage, piercing straight into it. She then sticks the bottom of the spear into the ground, hoisting Saizo up by the tip, dangling him up above. He writhes in pain, trying his hardest to push himself off the spear.

The student looks up and thinks to herself. "(Damn...he's a little heavy.)"

"GGGFFF...GGRRFFF..." grunts Saizo. He then feels it. A sensation at the top of his head. "(Yes, finally.)"

Looking down, Saizo looks straight into the girl's eyes. "Hey, look over here."

[Share the shot]

As he opens his mouth to reveal his third eye, the girl immediately slams the body down and darts away in a straight line.

The spirit gets up and holds his wounds. "(I finally got her off. Of course, I don't have any alcohol in me, but she doesn't know what my ability does so she took the safe option. That being said, I was this close to pulling a bottle out. And if I did, I have a feeling I would've killed myself right then and there. Tsk. So that was fucking pointless 💀. But now I have like thirty seconds to finally beat her)"

The girl starts bouncing in jagged lines. From the ground to the walls to the lamp post to the windows and to the sand; all in random order, surrounding Saizo.

The gangster looks around. His legs begin to feel weaker. "(She's trying to throw me off. Not a problem though, I'll just sacrifice a majority of my soul to impact her soul instead. If I can't use Ki, then I'll just coat my fist in magic to obliterate you that way. Yes. I just have to time it. Come on. Come 'ere.)'

Saizo closes his eyes, waiting for the student to finally skewer into him. His legs begin to wobble.

"(The timing. The sound of her foot steps. I can sense her intent. She's going to come...RIGHT N-)"

"FROM DOWN TOOOOOOWN." Cries a voice.

Saizo immediately opens his eyes. He turns around. His face is greeted by Naoki's sneakers dropkicking him.

Saizo ragdolls straight into the ground, rolling like a tumbleweed. He then realizes. "(My legs!)"

Saizo can no longer use his legs.

Crawling with his weak, brittle hands, Saizo angrily tries to reach Naoki. Frothing at the mouth, the gangster tries to yell at him, yet the massive crack on his face makes it too painful to talk.

Naoki looks down, while still holding his stomach. "Huh. I was expecting that last hit to kill you. But I guess I am reserving my Ki too, eh?"

"GGARRGGLLL FUCKING....KILL...YOU..." Mutters Saizo through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah. Get bent you stupid bitch."

Just as Naoki raises his leg, the foreign exchange student swiftly lands right next to Naoki. "Wait," she calls out.

Naoki, confused, looks at her. "What's up?"

"Are you sure we should kill him?" She asks.

"Uh, yeah? Why wouldn't we?"

"Well it's because I brought this in preparation." The girl whips out a small, metal tube slightly larger than a pencil. "I'm sure the academy would still appreciate one more asset."

Naoki rolls his eyes. "I mean... I guess. Idunno, I just have a hard time seeing the universe where this guy is helping any of us out" Says Naoki, lightly nudging the side of Saizo's head with his shoe.

Saizo says nothing.

Naoki, genuinely confused, stares at Saizo in bewilderment. "Is he... doing the silent treatment or?"

"No. Now he's in the stage of severe pain."

Naoki stares at Saizo, whose eyes are rolling back.

"Wow. That's not...fucking terrifying at all, no."

The girl looks away, ashamed.

"Well anyway," starts the girl. "I just think that another spirit added to the force would help us out in the long run. Its a numbers game after all."

Naoki shrugs. "I mean, I get your point, but how do you know we can trust him? I'm not too familiar with how the system works with spirits so-"

"Well when you have a bomb strapped directly into your soul, and you're contractually obliged to do as you're told, you don't really have a choice."

Naoki looks at her confused. "...Yeah?"

The girl looks away. "At least that's what I heard."

"...Right. Oh yeah, by the way, the name's Naoki. Naoki Miyamoto. Say, who are you, and how'd you know to find us?"

"Ah yes, introductions." The girl does a small bow. "My name is Viral. I am a foreign exchange student from Pakistan. I was scheduled to come here earlier but there were problems at the airport. Eventually your government figured it out and I arrived late. Did your coordinator not tell you I was coming?"

Naoki ponders for a sec... "Oh yeah, I guess Naota did mention you earlier. Neat." He looks at the spear and then to the gargling mess that is Saizo. "So what's with the biowarfare?"

"Ah, the poliovirus courses through my veins. I am able to put it into my weapons and inject it into my enemies."

Naoki, confused, rebuts. "But he's a god damn ghost. How is he getting crippled? Is it through Ki?"

Viral chuckles. "No, no. My virus is different. It injects directly into your soul."

Naoki gives her a very weirded out look. "Ah. That's nice."

"But there's two different versions. For this one, the condition is that it takes two minutes to completely process. But as a trade-off, the victim is only paralyzed for ten minutes, before reverting back to normal."

"I guess that doesn't mean too much when you can curb stomp them when they're down, right?"

"Precisely," she responds with a smile.

Naoki shrugs. "Eh I mean, I guess it doesn't hurt to abduct him. Worse case scenario they just kill him on the spot if they say no so... yeah, let's go for it."

"GGGHHKKRRR...W-WAIT...." Painfully gargles Saizo.

"Oh? What do you have to say now?" Says Naoki in a smug tone.

"QUES...QUES...TION..."

"Question?"

"Y...YES..." Grunts Saizo.

Naoki looks at Viral. "I'd want to hear him out, but I have a feeling the very second you cancel the virus, he's going to make a run for it. That's not going to mean much if a slightly bump into him will kill him but, that's still gonna be annoying."

"No worries," responds Viral. "The virus slowly weakens the closer it is to expiring. So maybe give it like five more minutes and he'll still be paralyzed, but while also being understandable."

"I see." Naoki then looks at Saizo. "Say, what'd you have to ask about anyway?"

"CO...COCKROACH..."

"Cockroach...?"

Naoki then goes wide-eyed and turns to Viral, holding her.

"HOLY SHIT I FORGOT-"

The teenager then looks over at the ocean. Yamada's body is slowly floating away into the sea.

Sprinting on the sand, Naoki drops his hat, jumps into the ocean, swims towards Yamada, and drags him back to shore.

Back on land, Naoki examines the damage on Yamada. The cockroach's hands are gone. There's a large, emboldened fist on his abdomen. The side of his head and his wings are still bleeding. Various burn marks and bruises pepper the insect's body.

Naoki then puts his hands on Yamada's chest. "Sorry buddy, but I need to make sure you didn't drown."

Naoki pushes his weight on Yamada's sternum and compresses it. After one push, Yamada coughs up a small spout of water alongside a deep breath.

"OW."

Yamada looks at Naoki, wide awake. "W-W-Why would you do that?"

With a sigh of relief, Naoki smiles. "Oh good you're alive. Just checking to make sure you didn't drown."

Yamada pouts. "It still huuurts..."

Naoki looks at Yamada confused. "Did he also attack your mind with that drinking technique?"

Yamada takes a couple seconds to respond. "I think so? Hang on can you help me up..."

"I wouldn't do that if I were y-"

Yamada stumbles. He wonders why he can't feel anything in his hands. Why they feel hot yet cold at the same time. A numb sensation. As he tries to turn his body to his side, he sees his hands. Wide-eyed, he tries to scream, but nothing comes out.

Naoki lifting Yamada up, responds. "Don't freak out. This is pretty bad, but Gretchen will patch you up as soon as we get out of here. Come on, let's go."

Yamada's mandibles droop. "Is it always like this?" Asks the cockroach.

"Not always, but usually," responds Naoki. "You're just gonna have to get used to your body getting thrashed. And you're just gonna have to get used to getting back up. That's life."

Yamada's mandibles tighten. "Life huh..." He mumbles to himself. "I don't really like it."

The two of them eventually reach the road. Viral has her weapon pointed at Saizo's head, and the gangster himself has stopped frothing at the mouth. He sports a rather moody disposition. Looking up, he sees the teenager and the cockroach. Saizo and Yamada lock eyes. Immediately, Yamada's mandibles stiffen, and instinctively show his teeth without realizing. Saizo smiles at Yamada's bloodlust. "Pussy." Comments Saizo.

Just as the cockroach was about stomp Saizo's head in, Naoki yanks him by the waist, and drags him to the ground. "Yamada, calm down!"

"He...He took my hands away. Why haven't you killed him yet?" Hisses Yamada.

"Calm down, we need him. Trust me, in any other case, I would let you deal the final blow. But hold yourself for a second. We just need to hear what he has to say."

Saizo on the ground, cackles.

Naoki walks back up to the spirit and soccer kicks him in the mouth. Saizo immediately shuts up. Naoki kneels and gets close to Saizo's face, grabs his head by the hair, and whispers in a menacing tone. "That one was to shut you up. The next one will be infused with Ki. Now ask your question."

Saizo rolls his eyes. "You guys are the Ordinance Academy right?"

"Kyoto school, that's right. Check the pin." Says Naoki, showing off a pin on his chest that shows the kanji for Kyoto.

"I expected the last thing the school did was to work with the Beetle of Iwate. Moreover, I didn't expect the beetle to be a cockroach of all things."

Naoki and Yamada look at each other confused. "Well, I guess someone could mistake a beetle for a cockroach."

"Actually," rebuts Viral. "Cockroaches and beetles are very different insects. Excluding the vast differences in shapes and sizes that most species have, cockroaches come from the Blattodea order, while beetles derive from the Coleoptera order. So in my opinion, I find it very unlikely for most people to confuse the two, despite their basic descriptions."

"Damn." Says Naoki. "I wasn't expecting the new kid to be a nerd."

"I just think bugs are cool..." Mutters Viral to herself.

"More importantly," continues Naoki. "What the hell are you talking about? Beetle of Iwate?"

Saizo contorts his neck to look at them confused. "You guys haven't heard? Around three weeks ago it was in the news. There's been this urban myth floating around of a giant beetle flying around in Iwate. Of course that could just be the typical internet hoax and neighborhood stories going around, so I didn't think too much of it. Lo and behold, I meet up with you and this asshole getting into my business."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Yamada dusts himself off with his forearms and addresses the gangster. "But that can't be possible. I was transformed around two weeks ago, and anyway, I haven't been to Iwate in five years. I was in Osaka the entire time I was like this. Afterwards, Naoki took me and there was this whole things going on, its a long story. But, to be clear this is my first time going back outside to the real world for a mission."

Saizo grunts and rolls his eyes. "Alright well then, I guess its just a myth then." He stares at the factory in the harbor.

Naoki notices. "What's wrong. Something you need to tell us?"

With a disappointed face, Saizo responds. "No..." He then turns his head to Naoki. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Naoki looks back at the factory, but doesn't think too much of it. "We got what we needed. Suck him up and let's go back to base."

"What about the drunk man on the sand?" Asks Viral.

"He's out cold. Though, I think he should be fine. I say give him an hour and he'll wake back up." Says Naoki.

Viral nods and unscrews the small, thin metal tube. With a saddened face, she points it at the spirit, and forcefully absorbs Saizo into the tube. His entire being, cramped into the confines of something so small. Only Viral can hear Saizo's trapped, agonizing screams.

All three of them sprint back towards base. Naoki helps Yamada by shouldering his weight. Viral makes sure that nobody sees them.

.

.

.

Naoki, Yamada, and Viral reach Gretchen's door.

"You help him out here," starts Viral. "In the meantime, I'll talk to Principal Hanayama about the captured spirit."

"Sounds good, I'll meet you soon." Responds Naoki.

Naoki knocks on the door as Viral leaves. Gretchen opens up the door. Despite it being the middle of the night, she does not look tired at all.

"Naoki? Yamada? What happened?" Asks Gretchen.

"We went out patrolling, got into a scuffle with a spirit, and ended up like this." Both Naoki and Gretchen look at the hunched over bug. "How are you holding up Yamada?" Asks Naoki.

"I feel tired... and weak... Can't I just lay down?" mumbles Yamada.

"Come on," commands Gretchen, motioning in the two. "Help me hoist him up."

The three of them walk into the medical office. The dim white lights barely light up the room. Meanwhile, the green glow of the large, rusted vats near the walls illuminate the majority of the room.

"I forgot to ask the other times but...what are those?" Asks Yamada.

"It's where you'll be sitting in for the next couple hours. Maybe even days." Responds Gretchen.

"What? I don't want that!"

"Well either you live the rest of your life handless and in excruciating constant pain, or you get in the damn vat." brusquely explains Naoki.

"Hooohhh..." grumbles Yamada, holding his stomach.

As Gretchen unlocks the top of the vat, she holds her hand out in front of Naoki and Yamada. "Both of you, look away."

The both of them do so. Noxious sounds of retching and gallons of thick liquid being poured ensue.

"What is that?" Asks Yamada.

"Its best we don't know." Responds Naoki.

After the noise stops, Gretchen starts. "Alright you two, you can look now."

As Naoki helps Yamada up the stairs, Yamada peers into the contents of the vat. A thick, glowing green bath of slime.

"This is the only way?" Asks Yamada.

"We can't just ask the medics from other schools to drop what they're doing and come over here. So stop crying already and get in the damn vat. It feels better than it looks, trust me."

Yamada slowly puts his foot in. The liquid is cold, and thick. Yamada already knows there's no choice in saying no. Slowly yet surely, he dips the rest of his body in. The more the slime consumes, the warmer he becomes. Eventually, he is submerged down to his neck. He notices the dried blood on the side of his head. Gretchen looks at him and points downwards.

"Even the head?" Asks Yamada.

"Even the head."

He holds his breath and dunks his head under the liquid. He blinks and realizes. "Hey wait... this is just like a mud spa." He then feels a tingling feeling where his hands used to be. "W-What is this? It feels ticklish but also kind of burns?"

"That's the slime working," answers Naoki. "In a couple hours, your hands should slowly form back. For now, just calm down and rest. Don't mess with your hands while you're at it though."

"Oh, alright. Thank you both, by the way."

Gretchen and Naoki wave it off. "We're just doing our job." Says Naoki.

Gretchen turns to the teenager. "Now, what injuries do you have?"

"Eh I mean, I got drunk for the first time."

She makes a wry face.

Naoki shrugs. "What? It was the guy's ability?"

"Oh, alright then. Did you enjoy i-"

"Hell no; it sucked. Thank god I have a fast metabolism though."

Gretchen sighs out of relief. "Alright good. Are there any other injuries?"

"Not that need to be taken care of right now."

Gretchen's eyes narrow. Naoki keeps a poker face. She then lifts up Naoki's shirt. There she sees a large hematoma spread all over Naoki's chest and stomach. Even ignoring his past scars, it's still very apparent this needs to be treated right away.

"Get in the vat." Demands Gretchen.

Naoki pulls his shirt back down. "Later. I have something I need to take care of right now." He then turns around and leaves the office.

Gretchen shakes her head in dissapointment. "Damn brat. Acting so macho won't get you anywhere."

.

.

.

An hour later.

In a dark, dank, and cramped room, Saizo, in his weakened state, wakes up. There's a small table and a lone candle right next to him. The first thing he sees is a 5'7" boy with pitch black shaggy hair that went down to his neck. He's wearing ripped jeans, as well as a hoodie underneath his uniform. Despite having cold, grey, dead eyes, they sparkle once they lock eye contact with Saizo's eyes. "Wakey wakey," says the boy, sporting a sharp, toothy grin.

"Who the hell are you?" Asks Saizo, moving around. He notices that his body is tied to a chair. Despite the rope seeming normal, no matter how hard he tries, the rope doesn't budge.

"For now, I'm the best bet you got at staying alive. So just listen up and you'll be fine."

"The hell is this? Why should I listen to some asshole like you?"

The boy sneers. "Ooooh you're a pissy one ain't cha?. Listen," he continues, nearing his face to Saizo's ear. "In a couple of minutes, a couple of my... peers... Yeah sure, peers are gonna come in here. Now some of us, namely me and the new chick want you to join us."

"Why?"

"Because we know what's it like for you."

"The hell do you know what it's like to be me?" Angrily rebuts Saizo.

"More than we'd like to admit," chuckles the boy. "However, there's also the other side to this. There are those who don't really care, and more importantly, those who want you dead. Those people are gonna do everything in their power to kill you, straight up."

"So? I'll just come back."

The strange boy cackles. "You don't get it. As a spirit, this is our last joyride. If you're fine with dying like a bitch then, by all means, you can tell me to piss off and I'll gladly oblige. And for some reason, I don't think living as slave to the state sounds too good either. However, I have a strange feeling that you got something, or someone left living, huh?"

Saizo grimaces, but doesn't say a word.

The boy smiles. "I may look like a jackass, but I'm smarter than I look, I'll let you know."

The door behind the both of them slams wide open. There, Akemi, Viral, and Naoki all come inside. The boy's impish demeanor immediately disintegrates as he and Akemi lock eye contact.

"Ken." Starts Akemi. With just the boy's name, it leaves a bad taste in Akemi's mouth. "What did you tell the prisoner?" Barks Akemi.

"Nothing jackass. I was just taunting him."

Akemi glares at Ken. "You and your fucking games..." Mutters Akemi. Akemi stands in front, looking down at the spirit. Saizo grimaces.

Akemi then throws a swift right hook towards Saizo's jaw. The weak spirit's face malforms from the impact, struggling to regain the previous composition.

Saizo looks up, directly at Akemi's eyes, and spits on him.

Akemi throws another punch, this time harder. An audible crack rings throughout the room.

"Akemi, dude. You just met him." Says Naoki.

"Didn't he hurt you and Yamada?" Asks Akemi.

"Yeah, but we already got it taken care of. Let's just do our actual job."

Akemi grunts and walks back. "I just don't get it. What's the point of bringing them here? You know how spirits are. They're all the fucking same."

Viral frowns and looks down. Ken wrinkles his nose. Saizo tries his hardest to suck his face back up, but the massive crack in his face isn't helping.

"Listen dude, lets just get this over with. If he says no then you can deal with him. But if he says yes, then tough shit." Responds Naoki.

Akemi grunts, and turns around. "Alright spirit, you have two options. Either one, we can kill you right here and now, and you'll save us all the trouble. On the other, you can agree to become a vessel, and join the Ordinance Academy."

Saizo, with his face still bleeding, looks up. "What're the upsides if I join you?"

"Just answer the damn ques-" Starts Akemi, before getting interrupted.

"Bro, chill." Interrupts Naoki. "You'll be doing a lot of training, paperwork, giving your soul to reception duty, and patrolling throughout the area."

"Patrolling?" Asks Saizo. "Like what happened last night?"

"Yes. Don't get it twisted though, this doesn't enable absolute freedom. You're gonna be stuck with someone supervising you, especially since you're so new."

Viral intently looks at Saizo. Ken quietly motions Saizo to nod his head yes. Akemi keeps a hateful stare on the spirit. Saizo then grunts and says "yeah, yeah, alright. I'll join your stupid academy."

"Alright, sounds swell." Says Naoki. "Quick little contract though. Do you Saizo, agree to give your being to the Ordinance Academy? This includes obeying the Ordinance code of conduct, as well as agreeing to the fatal pact rune being placed upon you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not like I really have a choice." Just as Saizo finishes that sentence, he feels something enter his soul. Like drinking boiling hot water, his stomach churns. The feeling lasts, but dissipates within a couple seconds.

Naoki comes close to him and smiles. "Congrats, welcome to the Ordinance Academy. Also, you have a bomb strapped to your soul now. Don't fuck up.😃 One last thing though. I know this is an odd question but just to make it all easier for the rest of us, do you know where you were buried?"

Saizo looks at Naoki confused. "The fuck are you...I mean yeah, I do...I think...?"

"Alright then, that's good news for us. I say we might as well go out now just to get it over with. I say Saizo, me, and Ken can all go out while the two of you can let Hanayama know."

"What are we going to do?" Asks Saizo.

"We're going to grave rob your body back."

.

.

.

4 AM

Naoki, Saizo, and Ken all run back towards different cemeteries. They're all scanning the names of a tombstone with the name of Saizo, and if there's no such name, they continue to a different one.

"Say Naoki," starts the gangster. "I'm assuming if I were to just get up and leave, something bad would happen, right?"

"Yup." Simply responds Naoki. "Any action that you do that goes against the code of conduct is read by the rune. Desertion being one of them. More importantly, that rune only affects spirits, so we don't have to chase you, and the parasite detonates itself."

Saizo gives a disgusted look. "The rune is a parasite that's a bomb?"

"Yup."

"You all are disgusting."

They look around, speeding past every tombstone, until Ken eventually finds one that says "Saizo" in Kanji.

"Yo, check and see if its this one." Says Ken.

Saizo looks at the tombstone. Saizo is written, sure, but he always thought his name was written in katakana, not kanji. Nevertheless, he weakens his spiritual making and phases through the coffin. An audible "woah!" is heard from beneath the ground.

"That handsome fella used to be me? Hot damn I still look good. So uh... what do I do now?"

"Possess it" Says Ken. "It's like putting on a jacket."

"What about the hill of dirt on top of the coffin?"

"Aww, a wittle thug needs help with a couple pounds of dirt? Awww...." Says Naoki in mocking tone.

Saizo scrunges up his nose. "Asshole."

"Ken, you got this, right?" Asks Naoki.

Ken nods.

"Alright well, while you do that, lemme just drop a letter in the cemetery's office to let them know the government is just doing its job and not a grave robber."

"Sounds good." Simply responds Ken.

As Naoki leaves, Ken kneels to the ground and puts his palm on the grass.

SHH-K

Ken then tugs on the grass. In a swift, slim layer, the grass gets pulled out of the dirt like a rug. He puts his palm on the large cube of dirt that's atop the coffin, and proceeds to do the same thing. Thousands of tiny white flashes all blink simultaneously. Saizo, standing by, could barely see the tiny flashes.

"Alright Saizo, I loosened up the dirt for you. You should be able to pop out of the coffin and crawl upwards. Go ahead."

Saizo then phases through the ground and tries to take a hold of the corpse.

Silence.

.

.

.

"GRRYYAAAAH, I'M ALIVE," yells Saizo, bursting out of the wooden coffin and dirt. Small shrapnels of wood splatter all over the place. The corpse only has minimal rot and dirt on its skin. Saizo's corpse is wearing a suit.

Ken facepalms. "When I say pop out of the ground, I mean metaphorically. We were supposed to keep the coffin intact..." He then shrugs. "Oh fuck it who cares. Let's just clean it up and get out of here."

Ken notices Saizo stare at his hands, intensely concentrating on bending the finger joints.

"What's wrong?" Asks Ken.

"Nothing its just..." Saizo then looks around. Naoki still hasn't come back. "It feels weird. This is supposed to be my body but, it feels different. It's like wearing someone else's clothes. Controlling it feels funny too. I don't remember being this short..." Saizo then turns around and scoffs. "Nevermind... as if you'd know. Come on lets just get out of here."

Ken slowly walks up to Saizo, grabs his face, and looks intensely in his eyes.

He then proceeds to headbutt the gangster in the face.

"What the hell was that for?" Asks Saizo.

"DURRRR I DON'T DINK HE KNOWS WHAD IT'TH LIKE DUUURRRRR." Mocks Ken.

Saizo, confused, gets up. "The hell are you talking about?

"Damn, you're dumber than you look. Is it not obvious? The only reason I'm on your side is because I'm a vessel too. I'm literally the only person that knows what its like."

Saizo scratches his head. "Oh... I guess so."

Ken continues. "Anyway, you feeling unfamiliar with the is only natural. I mean come on, how long has it been since you were last alive?"

"A little over a month I think."

"Well then yeah. Since you're a spirit, you didn't know magic before then, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And since you learned magic now, its transmogrified your soul to a new degree. For example, do you have any abilities that change the way you look?"

"Yes," mutters Saizo, thinking about his third eye and comically wide torso when fighting.

"Well there you go. That's what your soul becomes over a short amount of time. It's who you really are. Slowly yet surely, that erases what you used to look like, thus evolving from a mere remnant psyche to a newfound spirit. In other words, you're not who you are after you die. That's why this body feels so unfamiliar."

Saizo ponders for a bit. "Or what if we dug up the wrong body?"

"That happens too. But we've already spent too much time here so what you find is what you get. Like I said, since your soul doesn't recognize the body, it doesn't really matter who's it is, just a matter of having one in the first place."

Saizo looks disappointed. "But, I mean..." After a few seconds he shrugs and kicks a rock. "Whatever. Let's just get out of here."

Naoki eventually comes back. They all clean up the dirt, pull the grass rug over it again, and leave.

.

.

.

6 AM

Yamada is awake, resting in the vat. Naoki sits next to him on the ladder.

"How are you holding up?" Asks Naoki.

Yamada lifts his hand. With intense concentration, he forces a half built hand into a thumbs up.

"Yeah no, that looks half-baked; put it back in there. On the other hand though, how are you feeling?"

Yamada shrugs. "I feel alright. The vat doesn't bother me anymore, its just a matter of patience." Yamada goes quiet before starting up again. "There's a couple things that spirit said..."

Naoki looks at him. "Uh-huh?"

"I don't know, it just got to me."

Naoki shakes his head. "Oh nah man, don't pay him any attention. He's just shit-talking to get in your head."

"No but it worked," explains Yamada. "And more importantly, he was right. It wasn't just the things he said but it was also in my subconscious. I am weak. I am worthless. I am no man. Just a puny fucking insect. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Naoki shakes his head. "Come on man. You can't be thinking that way. It also doesn't help that you're wrong."

"Wrong? I couldn't even beat a mere spirit."

Naoki gives a disgruntled look. "Yamada. You've been training for like a week. Maybe less. For you to withstand that much is impressive in itself. Quit looking at what you couldn't do, and focus what you actually did accomplish. You didn't run away... Ok you did, but you eventually came back and gave it your all. That's what a man's all about. Not that walking parody of masculinity that is Saizo. You think that dumbass knows what it means to be a man?"

"...Kind of..."

Naoki sighs. "No dude. There's being a man. And then there's being a jackass. If you try so hard to be manly, everyone can see right through you. It's the actions that make the man, not the attitude. At least that's what Naota told me because hey, I'm still just a kid, y'know?"

Yamada stays quiet. "I see..."

"And besides, I suggest you make peace with him soon."

Yamada slowly turns to Naoki. "What are you talking about?"

"Because Saizo's going to be joining the Academy."

Instantly, Yamada's mandibles tighten. "This is going to cause problems, I just know it."

Naoki sighs. "As much as I want to say it won't... Yeah, I know it will."

Yamada turns to him. "What about you, Naoki? Don't you hate him? He almost drowned you?"

Naoki scratches his head. "Oh yeah no, don't get me wrong, I still think he's a jackass. But hate is a strong word."

Yamada hisses. "How noble of you..."

Naoki gives him a side-eye. "Oh calm down. I don't mean it as a goody two-shoes. I mean it would take a very, and I mean- very impressive person for me to hate them. If its just a dumbass who's starting shit, the most I'll ever find them is annoying."

"...So what would you do?"

Naoki pauses and eventually answers. "Well when it comes to people who you work with, there's two routes. There's Buddha's route who lets all things pass. Be like a rock when water passes by. 'No matter how annoying you are, I will sit still, and let it pass around me.'"

"That sounds very weak to me," says Yamada. "You're letting him walk all over you."

Naoki shakes his head. "I disagree. I see where you're coming from, but think about it. To have that patience, that mental resilience to not punch a bitch in the mouth is stronger than just yapping on and on. Because tell me this, who do you think is stronger: the guy on the ground, paralyzed, beaten to an inch of his death, who's still running his mouth. Or the guy who says 'No, fuck you. I won't let you of all people ruin my mood. You can bitch all you want but I won't give you my time or effort.'"

"You have a mind for philosophy, Naoki." Says Yamada in a sullen tone.

"I mean, thanks I guess-"

"But you know, of all the philosophy books I read back when I was in highschool, not one of them worked." He turns to Naoki. "I respect the way you think, Naoki. But the realm of idealized thoughts and situations are much different from the real world."

Naoki, disgruntled, looks at him. "So you think giving him attention will help you out? You think wasting your energy thinking about him and getting angry will solve the situation?"

"I guess so."

Naoki purses his lips and closes eyes. "You're right, to an extent." Reluctantly agrees Naoki.

Yamada narrows his eyes. "What a way to change your views."

Naoki scoffs. "I wasn't finished. The second way is to confront the other person. This is way more ideal, because I understand you. Simply ignoring and letting the animal pass by doesn't always work. Even though I did ignore Saizo yapping, I did dropkick him at the end of the day. But that's because it's my job, not because of- whatever. Point is, confrontation is key. That's what being a man is all about. There's the ideal man, and then there's reality. The real matter is, how you go about that confrontation, and how far you want to escalate it."

Naoki then turns to Yamada. "I have no right to tell you how to live your life. But let me warn you, if you want to confront someone, you are responsible for what you do, and what happens next."

Yamada doesn't look at Naoki, and responds. "I'm fine with that."

Naoki sighs. "For someone who's twice my age, I'd expect you to know more about these things. But I guess you didn't live much in the first place."

Yamada doesn't say anything.

Naoki stands up. "Whatever you do, I hope for the best." He then leaves the room.

As Naoki walks down the hallway, he ponders to himself, and frowns. "Oh Naota...I think I fucked up."

As Naoki passes by, Akemi walks towards the direction Naoki was in.

The medical office doors opens. Yamada, marinating in his thoughts, looks up. Akemi walks in.

"I heard Saizo did this to you." Says Akemi.

.

.

.

Down by the harbor, a spirit walks into a factory. He's clad in biker jacket that doubled as a karate gi.

"Saizo...Saizo? Where are you?"

For hours on end, the spirit roams, searching for his friend.

.

.

.

8 AM

In a small apartment, Ushiyama Kito wakes up. He always sleeps with the tanktop and shorts that he'll wear the next day, so the only think he puts on is his bandana. He turns on the TV, flashing through the news. As he does so, he pours a small bowl of cereal and starts eating.

"Last night, sightings near Iwat- BZZ- A drunk man was found near the Kyoto harbo- BZZ- Breaking news-"

Kito immediately blows milk out of his nose as he sees the news. "OW, it burns..."

"Just this morning, the mayor of Kyoto was reported dead by his family. The police and ambulance pronounced him dead on their arrival, deducing that he passed away from a heart attack in his sleep."

"Damn..." mutters Kito, stroking his chin. "A week's already passed? Hmm!"

Knock knock knock.

Kito hears someone knocking on his door.

"Hm... a fan already? But I never gave my address away."

He opens the door. "Can I help you?"

There, stands a tall business man, with dead, grey eyes, and permanent circles around them. There stands Yoshida Mishima, the Japanese Ambassador for the Ordinance Academy.

"Hello Mr. Kito. We need to talk."