The first thought that floated to Haru’s mind was a sarcastic “great, another one.” Unlike Tsuki at least, this man looked reliable, though the mismatch between the weapon and his casual attire made for an odd combination. The spear was as tall as the man himself and Japanese style, with it technically being called a naginata. The man calling himself Tetsu was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, giving him a homely look. He could easily pass for a young househusband. His face was more on the unkept side, with brown uncombed hair and stubble that he stroked a bit as he addressed Haru.

“I sensed a surge of essence and found quite a sight. Didn’t think I’d see a random civilian fending off a Shade with a ruler of all things.”

He had been watching Haru struggle before deciding to help him. He must have seen Haru’s disapproving eyes, for he apologized a moment later.

“Guess I should’ve jumped in a bit sooner. Sorry about that. But honestly, that Shade was on the tougher side and facing it directly would have taken a bit of time. Thanks to you I managed to deal with it in one shot.”

“What about Natsuki?” Haru cut in, trying to look past Tetsu’s muscular body.

“The girl that was the host for the Shade? She’s lying unconscious on the grass. Seemed the mental strain knocked her out, which is common for when the Shade is strong. She should wake up in a bit with no lasting damage.”

“Finally found you.” A familiar voice resounded across the yard as Tsuki jogged up to Haru, panting slightly. He was holding something long in his hand.

“It took me a while to get here…but it looks like the captain took care of things. I’m glad to see you’re safe. Maybe I shouldn’t have dropped by your place to grab your bat.”

“We can talk later.” Haru pushed his way past Tsuki and trotted over to Natsuki, straightening her body out on the grass.

“Not even a hello?” Tsuki muttered with annoyance.

“Natsuki? Wake up, Natsuki!” Haru lightly tapped her cheek with his index finger and she began stirring. After a few seconds, her eyes slowly opened.

“Uhh…Haru? Why am I lying down?” She shook her head and pulled herself upright. Looking around, she saw her friend and classmate Haru, the scattered trees of the courtyard, and two unfamiliar faces.

“Haru? Who are they?” She asked, pointing.

“They’re…acquaintances of mine.” Haru responded. Stealing a glance, he confirmed that discounting the bat, neither of them were holding weapons. As far as appearances were concerned, they were indistinguishable from normal people.

“So her name is Natsuki? She has quite the capacity, don’t you think, Tsuki?”

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna recruit her too?”

“I might consider it, but it’s too soon.”

Haru ignored whatever the two were talking about and focused on calming Natsuki down.

“Natsuki, I can’t understand the stuff you’ve had to through…or what you are currently going through. But there are many people that are willing to listen and help. Not just me, all your friends that admire how hard you work would be more than happy to support you however they can. Emotionally, as well as with your studies. You can definitely pass those exams because I know you’re not as dumb as you think.”

Natsuki said nothing for what felt like minutes, then she slowly stood up, and gave Haru a gentle hug.

“Thanks. I think I needed that. Starting now, I’ll try not to shut everyone else out. I’ll ask for help, but first I think I’ll lie down in the infirmary for a bit.”

“You need some help getting there?” Haru asked.

Natsuki hesitated a moment.

“I know I just said I’d rely on people more, but I can do this much on my own. Thank you, Haru.”

Her gait was slightly unsteady, but she made her way back to the school without issue. Once she had disappeared into the building, Haru’s mind changed tracks.

“Tsuki.” He said while walking up to the boy in question and grasping him firmly on the shoulder. “Why did you postpone coming here to rescue me to grab my bat of all things? Did you want to see me fight that thing?”

“Uh…well, you’ve been practicing for several days now and it was just lying in your backyard, so ugh, I thought it’d be a good chance to work on our…teamwork, you know?” Tsuki was sweating while averting Haru’s gaze.

“This kid just loves screwing around. I’ll discipline him later. That’s my responsibility as his captain.” Tetsu said gruffly. “But first, I’m getting another transmission. Two college-age kids on the big bridge. They might jump if we don’t hurry.”

“Another case? There’ve been way too many lately. But at least you get another chance to show what you’re made of.” Tsuki flashed a grin at Haru. It seemed that not even imminent punishment from his captain could change him.

“I don’t care if you bring him, just don’t do anything stupid.” Tetsu said dismissively.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Haru asked.

“You don’t wanna come?” Tsuki taunted.

Truth be told, Haru did want to see more of the world these two people lived in. So he ultimately gave a resignation sigh.

“Alright! Hold on tight.” Tsuki cheerfully wrapped his right arm around Haru’s torso, under his arms. “My essence will protect you from most of the air pressure, but you might want to close your eyes so you don’t panic.”

Haru immediately regretted his decision.

***

It was the late afternoon, so the air was starting to cool and the amount of daylight was gradually waning. It was the time of day where many people would pause for a brief instant to appreciate nature’s calm beauty before carrying the last of their daily tasks.

But such luxury didn’t apply to everyone. There were always those rushing to meet a deadline, engrossed in personal activities, or in Haru’s case, suppressing the urge to scream as g-forces threatened to send him flying onto the earth. Tsuki’s grip was secure, but Haru couldn’t help but cling to him like the lifeline he was. On the other hand, Tsuki himself appeared to enjoy the feeling of rushing across the sky at high speed. It was likely akin to an amusement park thrill ride to him.

And likewise, the trip that was only a few seconds in length seemed to drag on for what felt like an eternity before the rushing wind fades and Haru felt his feet meet solid asphalt once more. It took him several deep breaths before he was confident enough to open his eyes again.

“Why…? What…was that?” he managed to gasp out. Tsuki nonchalantly took a few steps away.

“Just a jump, boosted with essence. It’s one of the three major technique all Cleansers have to master. Our destination was close so we didn’t need more than one jump. Lucky for you.”

A large river formed the western border of the town and spanning across it was a truss bridge nearly half a mile long. Since it was comparatively new, little rust or graffiti could be seen on the red girders. Owing to the town being fairly distant from major highways, the bridge didn’t get much traffic either, not a car or pedestrian was in sight, save for the three silhouettes standing at the edge of the bridge.

“Three? I was told there were only two.” Captain Tetsu took a few steps forward to get a closer look. “Wait, I recognize that short one…oh boy.” He turned around to face Tsuki.

“Alright kid, this is an order from your captain. Defuse the situation and tell the girl to cool her head. As nicely as possible, if you would.” In Haru’s eyes, the captain looked a bit irritated.

“I don’t mind, but what’s the deal with the girl?” asked Tsuki. The captain furrowed his brows.

“I don’t think you’ve met, but you’ve probably heard of her at least. The Cleanser Mina?”

“Mina? Isn’t that girl considered a prodigy? Also, isn’t her division stationed somewhere in Europe?”

“Look, just go and do something about this before those kids throw themselves off the bridge just to get away from her because I don’t want to deal with this.” The captain looked downright exasperated despite now doing anything yet.

“Well, let’s go Haru.” Tsuki gestured towards the bridge with his thumb while throwing a sidelong glance at Haru. Honestly, Haru was regretting his decision to go along with his whims, especially after the ride here, but after coming this far he really couldn’t see a way to avoid this. The sooner he was finished here, the sooner he could go back home and relax. Haru gave a sigh and followed behind Tsuki.

“Here. Just in case.” Tsuki handed the baseball bat to Haru, who accepted it with a curt “Thanks.”

Two of the silhouettes on the bridge belongs to two boys that appeared to be in their twenties, college students perhaps, definitely older than Haru. From what the captain said, the boys were getting ready to end their own lives by jumping off the bridge, but the present circumstances were beyond what Haru expected. The two were instead facing the owner of the third silhouette, a small girl wearing a western dress, who was berating them furiously.

“…people like you two that take the easy way out of problems and don’t even think about improving yourselves! Did you even consider how to take on the issue without beating yourselves up to the point of wanting to throw your lives away? Didn’t your parents teach you not to jump of bridges just because a friend was doing it? A mistake or two isn’t worth losing your one and only life over!”

Just listening to the voice was giving Haru a headache. The girl’s hair was long and light, but there was a tinge of oriental facial features. In contrast to her stature, her clothes looked like something a grown woman would wear on a casual outing, with a green skirt reaching the knees, a white, button-up shirt with frills, and black featureless shoes.

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“I change my mind. You go talk to her.” Tsuki stopped and pulled Haru forward. “That kid sounds like my mom if she were pint-sized and I’m getting flashbacks.”

“The captain ordered you to do it!” Haru protested.

“The captain ordered me to defuse the situation and I will, by using you. I can tell you’re better at dealing with people so I know you can handle this. Go forth, soldier!” Tsuki gave a thumbs-up that made Haru want to take a swing at him with the bat he was holding. But his curiosity surpassed his reluctance, so he decided to give it a try at least.

“Um…excuse me?” Haru cut in as the girl began a lecture on ‘social responsibility.’ “Is everything okay?” When he thought about it, holding a bat did nothing to help his persuasive prowess. The taller of the two boys, who wore glasses, replied first.

“No way it is. This brat just came up to us and started preaching like a mom. She never stopped for a second. I told her to run back home, and you know what she did? She slapped me and kept going!”

The other boy, whose build was on the larger side, chipped in.

“Yeah! We just wanted to jump in peace, not get yelled at!”

“So, you were trying to jump off the bridge, and this girl stopped you?” Haru asked.

“You idiot! You’re not supposed to say that!” The boy with glasses berated his companion, who flinched back.

“I don’t need help from a nobody. Go back to playing baseball with your friends or whatever.” The girl said to Haru with her legs outstretched and her arms forming triangles with her hands at her hips. It was a textbook pose of authority from a girl that looked to be in middle school at most.

“Look, I don’t want you guys to do anything you’ll regret, so maybe you should go home for now and think things through. After a good night’s sleep I’m sure you guys can handle whatever it is that’s bothering you.” Haru couldn’t pretend to know what these two were going through so all he could do was show some consideration and give general advice.

“Oh not you too. We don’t need guys who know nothing to tell us that our lives are ‘special’ or whatever. I can do what I want with my life, so if I’m sick of this world and its crap, I can end it if I want!”

“Yeah! Nobody cares about us anyway! Everyone’s so mean and keeps saying that we need to work harder or go to class more or stop hanging around parking lots with our friends. But we’ll show ‘em!” The large boy added. Haru suppressed his urge to make a critical retort.

“See? Guys like this can’t be corrected so easily.” The girl continued. “If you don’t put some pressure on them, they’ll never see the error of their ways. The trick is…to…”

Her voice trailed off and Haru could immediately tell why. Black smoke had started to emit from the boys’ bodies. The boys themselves had blank expressions and clouded eyes.

“But there wasn’t any warning…” The girl muttered just loudly enough for Haru to hear. Within moments, the two clouds of smoke converged on each other and the volume expanded. A dark ominous cloud stretched over Haru’s head and writhed; smoky tendrils flowed in multiple directions. He instinctively tightened his grip on the bat’s handle and braced himself. He knew he didn’t have to fight, he just needed to find the right chance to run. Tsuki and Captain Tetsu could take care of the rest.

“The hard way it is then.” Mina raised a hand to the air and Haru felt the air around him freeze. There was no wind, the birds in the sky had frozen mid-flight, the area around him became an alien space where the time didn’t move along it’s designated course. The girl, standing like a tiny queen in this frozen world, stared down the cloud of darkness and made her declaration.

“I, Mina Redwood, shall cleanse you with my beautiful collection!” Something appeared in Mina’s hand, it was a large, embroidered knapsack. But rather than the kind used for camping or expeditions that resembled backpacks with multiple pockets, it was more like a sack with flower designs and a single opening. Turning it upside down, Mina scattered its contents into the air, but before they could hit the ground, they froze in midair, before shooting towards the smoke.

Jewels, or rather, stones. They glittered like shooting stars in the evening light as they curved through the air. Not precious jewels like diamonds or rubies, but quartz, topaz, and other minerals and semi-precious stones. Like raindrops, they shot through the cloud, and after traveling a bit longer, they stopped in midair and changed angles, boomeranging back for a second attack.

“This is the beautiful treasury that I’ve built up for all 15 years of my life. None can surpass it! Behold its splendor and perish!” Mina declared before laughing almost hysterically. It was as if she had become a different person. Also…

“You’re 15?!” Haru exclaimed with genuine shock. He was sure Mina was no older than 12 by her appearance. The rocks stopped in midflight, Mina had also frozen. Aside from the flowing smoke, everything nearby was truly frozen in time. Then, Mina slowly turned her head towards Haru, her countenance displaying a mixture of confusion, anger, and shame.

“You…how are you…you heard what I…?” Not good. She couldn’t even form a simple question. Her concentration was completely shattered. What’s more, a huge tendril was coming down on her.

“Mina!” Haru kicked off the ground and charged. In her stupor, Mina didn’t even blink as Haru grabbed her and dived. He managed to turn over in the air and land on his back, so Mina was unharmed (it helped how light she was) but in return the back of his shirt tore and a burning pain shot up his body as his skin scraped against the asphalt. The tendril slammed into the ground a few inches from his feet.

“Get up! Snap out of it!” Haru lightly shook the girl, whose mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. Hearing a hissing sound, Haru turned and saw a smaller tendril had formed from the large one and was moving towards him.

“Focus…focus…” Haru let go of Mina to grip his bat with both hands and tried to imagine energy flowing into it. He wasn’t filled with anger, or a sense of heroism. If anything, he was utterly terrified. Despite being made of two Shades, the cloud was four times larger than the one that came out of Natsumi. What the heck were Tsuki and the Captain doing?

Desperately throwing away his hesitation, Haru yelled and swung his bat down on the tendril as it approached him. A sound of impact, then of…crackling? Looking down, Haru saw that the section he had hit was encased in what seemed to be ice. No, it actually was ice. He could even feel the chill. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but this wasn’t the time to gawk! Haru pulled his bat loose and brought it down again, shattering the ice into pieces. The smoke connected to the ice dispersed and faded.

“You’re a Cleanser too?! I thought you were just a civilian! If I knew that I wouldn’t have…” Mina’s voiced trailed off at the end, but at least she returned to her senses. Haru didn’t have the time to correct her misunderstanding yet though.

“But you’re just a newbie! I’ll handle this!” Mina stood up and resumed her posture of confident. The gemstones floating in midair began moving again and surrounded the Shade in all directions.

“Nice show Haru! Now for the final act!” Tsuki’s familiar voice came from the edge of the bridge. As Mina’s stones punched holes throughout the Shade, Tsuki swung his sword like a whirlwind, cutting through the thin sections and severing their connection to the Shade’s main body. Without a connection, the separated smoke could only vanish. Mina herself was barely moving, even using her stones to beat back the tendrils that came towards her, but her face was strained in utmost concentration. She didn’t even seem to notice Tsuki’s entrance.

The air trembled. The Shade was now less that half of its original size, but it wasn’t through yet. The smoke shifted direction and quickly flowed towards the same point. The amoeba-like form now looked more like a sphere and the dark smoke was now as black as a midnight sky. It looked like a miniature black hole threatening to absorb everything.

“It condensed itself. This isn’t good, my collection won’t be able to reach the core like this.” Mina grit her teeth in frustration. The condensed Shade accelerated, charging straight towards Mina and Haru like a giant black bull. Mina gave a shout of panic.

“I’ll form a wall…no, it’s too fast. I can’t make it!”

Was the fear giving his body an adrenaline boost? Haru couldn’t say for sure. All he knew was that in the next instant, his body moved in front of Mina as he swung his bat with everything he had. Still, he wasn’t using brute strength along, he remembered the feeling from when he hit the tendril before and tried to replicate it. That sense of focus, of energy flowing from his core, of his bat being an extension of himself.

The impact felt like he was hitting a concrete wall, but he wasn’t about to let it rebound. No matter how much force the baseball had, the batter had to swing all the way through!

Cold. The air around him was freezing. The front surface of the Shade was encased in ice and the bat was lodged 2 inches deep into it. The feeling of resistance was gone as well. The Shade couldn’t move.

“It’s like a gemstone…” Mina, having fallen onto the ground in shock, breathed out in wonder.

“Not done yet!” Tsuki shouted as he and the Captain entered Haru’s field of vision and assaulted the frozen section. Sword and spear slashed in parallel as a large chunk was forcibly carved out, falling to the ground and shattering into crystalline shards. At the center of the hole they made, Haru saw something dense just beyond the last layer of ice.

“Mina! Do it” Tsuki shouted.

Mina give her head a quick shake and raised her arms. Dozens of sparkling stone converged and revolved around her body like planets around a sun.

“This is the radiance of the Queen’s Treasury!” She shouted one last embarrassing line as the stones flew towards the center of the Shade all at once. The first few left cracks as they hit, but the rest burst through the ice, penetrated the core, and shot out the other side. The hissing of the smoke dissipating sounded almost like a scream as it faded in all directions. After several long seconds, the Shade vanished completely.

A period of silence remained following the battle. The sound of birds chirping finally broke it. Time had started moving again.

“Well, that went well. Tsuki said cheerfully as he sheathed his short sword, which vanished like a mirage.

“Say the guy that pushed his job onto a civilian. Captain Tetsu growled back. And Mina, what are you even doing here? Your territory is in London.” Mina threw him a harsh glare in response.

“Yeah? Well according to Daddy, there’ve been a lot more Shades in the Far East recently so members of other divisions are being relocated to deal with it. I begged him to let me come so here I am. I even got into an exchange program for school. There was no way I’d miss the chance to live in Japan.”

“Must be nice to have your dad as the 3rd Division Captain.” Tetsu said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Daddy judged me solely for my ability.” Mina said with her arms crossed and head held high.

“Keep telling yourself that. I’ll have to have a talk with your dad after I deal with those two idiots.” Tetsu gestured towards the two boys collapsed against the railing. The backlash of releasing their Shades had left them unconscious.

“Haven’t seen a compound Shade in a while. It came out way too suddenly and fused too quickly. Something’s definitely up.” Tsuki remarked. “Also, what’s the deal with your powers, Haru? Ice this time?”

“This time? It wasn’t before?” Tetsu tilted his head. “When he fought that girl’s Shade…no, that wasn’t ice. It was more like a barrier.”

“When he nailed me in the forehead with a bell, it burst into flames. Something’s weird. I know some Cleansers can develop more than one ability, but Haru’s just a random civilian. This doesn’t make sense.”

“So he’s not a Cleanser? Well, he’s got guts despite looking so plain. If he has potential, maybe I’ll make him my underling.” Mina’s current tone made it hard to believe she was nearly killed minutes earlier.

“I don’t get what happened either. To be honest, I was terrified. I thought I was going to die this time.” Haru admitted. “Can I just go home now?”

“Sure. And I’ll try to keep Tsuki here from dragging you into any more trouble.” Tetsu said. “But your abilities may be worth looking into. I’m curious myself.”

“Want me to give you a lift back?” Tsuki offered.

“I’ll walk.” Haru responded emphatically.

As the group started walking back toward the end of the bridge, a shadow covered the sky. But it wasn’t due to a passing cloud covering the sun. The three Cleansers stopped and turned towards the heavens.

“Did you two feel that?” Tetsu asked.

“Are you kidding? It’s impossible to ignore.” Tsuki said back.

Haru’s hair stood on edge. He felt as if an electric current were running through his body, stimulating his senses, ringing alarm bells in his head screaming at him to run. His pulse quickened, his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. He felt as though he was being exposed to a forced of pure despair that enveloped his body and dug into his insides.

“A meteor.” Mina’s eyes went wide. Streaking across the evening sky was an enormous black sphere that could be put on the level of a shooting star. It was too large, too close, and it was coming down on the town. The shadow from before was when it passed over the sun.

“That’s not just a meteor. I can sense the corrupted essence of Shades coming from that thing. It’s denser than anything I’ve ever seen. Just how many would it take to get to that size?” Tetsu clicked his tongue in annoyance. “My spear wouldn’t be able to stop it. There’s no point in jumping, we need to prepare for the fallout.”

A sinking sense of horror filled Haru from the inside out. Looking at where that black meteor was heading, he could tell where ground zero would be. Despite his terror, his voice was surprisingly steady.

“That meteor…it’s falling right onto my house.” He finally said it.

Nobody said a word. Everyone was just looking at Haru with widened eyes. Tsuki was the first to speak.

“Are you serious?” he asked. Haru nodded.

The meteor momentarily vanished behind the trees and buildings, but in the next instant, a cataclysmic impact shook the earth down to the core.