Writer's Note: Hello! A-11 is finally free and attempts to live a new life for himself. He no longer has to endure painful experiments. He is no longer a lab rat. He is free. Power levels are explained here. Oh, no cultivation. Like I said: new genre for me to write about. Supernatural, sci-fi, and fantasy wrapped into one. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: The New Identity

"Are you sure you have orphans with supernatural powers?" a man in a red tuxedo asked as he walked beside an old woman.

"Of course. This orphanage has accepted all kinds of children, no matter how dangerous or harmless they are. If they needed a temporary home, we give it to them and assist in getting them adopted to a new family," the old woman smiled.

"I am looking for a son to guard and protect my friend's daughter. He is a man of a higher status and power than my own and has many enemies. The boy must be able to protect himself and my friend's daughter. This son must be able to control at least two elements. Furthermore, no one else should know he controls two and must have other supernatural abilities," the man requested.

"I know just the lad," the woman said and led him and his two bodyguards to the backyard. A boy of twelve seemed to be immersed in training, practicing his punches and kicks on a sand bag. "That's him. Black hair and jade eyes. The eyes are proof he has the potential to be a Shadow Hunter, a human with supernatural powers. On the surface, he can create and manipulate ice into any shape or form. Like most other Shadow Hunter children, he has enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, and durability. What sets him apart is his enhanced regenerative power and two secrets I discovered when he first came here about five years ago."

"How old is he? Is he educated?" the man asked.

"Yes. He is incredibly smart, for an orphan. His deepest secrets are his partial Lycan transformation and ability to control blue lightning as he can with ice. When he transforms, his physical traits are heightened by ten times and blue fur covers the back of his arms, legs, the sides of his face, and his back. His nails turn snow white and can elongate themselves. What's more interesting, wounds he inflicts with his claws heal at the rate of a normal human. I believe he keeps the blue lightning a secret for a different reason. He seems....intrigued and scared of his blue lightning. We call him Frost, as the kids know him for his ice element attribute," the old woman answered.

"He has potential," the man nodded, satisfied. "Same age as my friend's daughter too. If the sister was not a bro-con, I might have set him up with her. However, she is in love with her step brother. I can tell as I have been among her company than her own family."

"Sounds complicated. Youngsters these days, always getting married if they get a divorce or their spouse dies. That ain't eternal love, I say," the old woman sighed and looked at the man. "Would you like to meet him? Adopt him?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "My wife and unborn child died during child birth. I will raise him as my own for I will not take another woman. I will meet with him."

"Okay," the woman nodded and shouted to Frost. "Frost! Frost, there's a man here willing to adopt you. Come. Come."

"Yes, Granny Wang," the boy said and ran over to her, seeing a man in his early thirties with two body guards behind him. All three seemed to be Dark Hunters and reeked an aura of power beyond his own.

"I'll leave you four alone as I gather the papers," the old woman said as she gestured to the bench. Frost and the man sat on opposite ends of the table, the two guards standing behind the man.

"Hello Frost. I learned about you from Granny Wang. That also includes your wolf transformation and your blue lightning. I, myself, also control lightning. However, my lightning is jade, like your eyes. You must have another power, am I right?" the man inquired.

"...yes," A-11 said, knowing this man was beyond his capacity to fight or escape. "I call it Evil Eye. On my palm is a star-infusing rune of an eye. I create a weird white energy that releases an energy cannon that vaporizes everything in its path. I call it Evil Eye as the energy cannon only becomes more powerful and the white energy has no other use."

"No way! That's impossible. Star-infusions were deemed illegal decades ago due to its high mortality rate," the man cried but saw the white rune of an eye. "You were experimented on."

"Yes," A-11 said. "My father took me away and raised me far away from my uncle. He infused me with a star fragment, hoping I would gain the power from the meteorite. It was only a year or two after I escaped to this orphanage that it formed a rune eye. My father died. I don't remember much about him, this rune being the only reminder."

"They must have been scientists," the man said, believing A-11 as the boy was seven when he arrived at the orphanage. "You're lucky to be alive. Perhaps you also got your partial wolf transformation through your uncle's experiments."

"Dunno," A-11 shrugged. "I only remembered the pain before my body assimilated with it. My father said it was because I had a Lycan's heart in my chest."

"A heart of a Lycan? Those creatures are extremely rare and territorial. Your uncle must have been extremely powerful. No Lycan would withstand their own kind being used as experimental material. It explains the enhanced regeneration. Which element was your first?"

"The lightning. It wasn't blue until after I got my ice element attribute," A-11 said. "My lightning became more powerful and difficult to control. It was only when I turned seven that I could use it without hurting myself."

"I see. Good. I like you. I am going to adopt you and you will be my son. I am a Shadow Hunter, one of the best. My friend has a step son and daughter. He is a chairman of a powerful organization and has many enemies. You are to protect his daughter. His step son is a genius and needs no protection. If the daughter flirts with her step brother, you are to ensure no one bullies her for it. I can only show you the path to be a Shadow Hunter, it is up to you to grasp it," the man said. "My name is Jinzo Hatake. You might want to pick a better name than Frost."

"Zaku," A-11 said, the name recurrent among his memories. My name will be Zaku Hatake."

"Good. Short and easy to remember. Take this," Jinzo said, giving Zaku a sheathed dagger with a pure black handle. He drew it to see a shining silver blade. A serpentine dragon was faintly carved on both sides of the blade.

"Silver?" Zaku asked.

"Mithril, like in the fantasy books. That's true silver. Creatures of the Dark are weak against it. It is also damn near indestructible. It will both protect you and remind you that showing mercy to your enemies is to harm yourself. If you have the chance to kill your enemy, do it," Jinzo said. "Come. It's time you left this place. Also, take this ring. It contains a pocket dimension where you can store items. The size is fifteen feet in length, width, and height. Not a bad amount of storage space, for a former orphan. These things cost a lot and are an essential tool for official Shadow Hunters. Take care not to lose it. Bind both the dagger and the ring with a drop of blood and follow me."

Stolen novel; please report.

"Thank you," Zaku said, binding the ring and dagger before putting on the ring and attacking the sheath on his belt behind his back. He paused as he got a 1911 Desert Eagle handgun from one of the bodyguards.

"You're giving me a...gun?" Zaku said as was surprised it felt heavy. "This is a Desert Eagle."

".50 caliber Desert Eagle. You're gonna need that, Zaku," Jinzo said as the four approached a limousine, another bodyguard serving as the driver as the foster father and son entered the limousine first. "Not all dangers lurk in the dark. You have enhanced strength. I trust you can handle the recoil. We're going for a drive."

"Where to?" Zaku asked as he put the gun in his storage ring.

"I reckon you've killed Dark creatures? The orphanage lays in the outskirts of the capital. Bound to have some damage, but the house is in one piece. Your work?" Jinzo asked.

"I was well-educated," Zaku said, remembering his days in the lab as A-11.

"Good," Jinzo said. "Now, allow me to tell you some background information on our world. The empire we live in is called the Red Sun Empire. Ten thousand years ago, this empire used to be someplace called Japan. World War 3 happened and most of the world was contaminated with nuclear radiation. Those that survived mutated due to the radiation."

"That is how Shadow Hunters and those Dark creatures came to be," Zaku continued.

"Yes and the countries ended destroying themselves and chaos reigned. Most humans developed no supernatural powers. Others, did and they could not control themselves. Some called them gods. Others, called them devils. After a few centuries, humanity assimilated as the radiation subsided and learned to control themselves. Humanity improved and started to retake the world, but we had no choice but to accept we weren't the only bipedal species to dominate the Earth. Not anymore," Jinzo said. "Some claim the Chinese are right and that we live in the Mortal Realm. They say cultivation exists, but there is no measuring it due to such a wide variety of powers. Man can fly now, with or without wings. Some people with powers can even make magical weapons and mankind eventually made plasma weapons and Shade Golems, human-shaped robots that  a soldier enters into and controls. It's like something from a mecha sci-fi movie."

"The world is crazy for damn sure," Zaku muttered.

"We have arrived Mr. Hatake," a guard said as the limousine pulled up before a rusted gate surrounding an abandoned factory.

"Excellent," Jinzo said and they got out of the limousine. "Our men are on standby?"

"Yes Mr. Hatake," the driver said as the two body guards stood to the right and left of the two Hatake members.

"What is this place?" Zaku asked.

"This is where you will be tested. Inside are familiars, ordinary humans who serve the Dark creatures in the hopes of being turned. They have no future as a Shadow Hunters and you are here to kill them and the small time vampire coven they serve. The leader is rumored to be a G Rank Dark creature. I never intended for you to kill the coven too, but you are more talented than I expected. Kill them all," Jinzo said.

"G Rank?" Zaku asked.

"Dark Hunters classify Dark creatures and other Shadow Hunters by power levels. The order from lowest to highest is H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, and SS. You seem strong based on the large amount of spirit energy in your body. You have to kill the vampire coven leader. You're not 15, the legal age to be a Shadow Hunter. However, Your alias will make you seem like one. I need a son to protect and serve my interests. You need power. You need a father. I can give you that," Jinzo said. "My enemies are many. Even fellow Shadow Hunters are jealous of me. Once you go to school, you'll learn what rank I am and how difficult it is."

"Good luck young master," the driver said, Zaku able to see tattoos on the driver's neck.

"Yakuza?" he realized, looking at Jinzo with shock.

"You saw that? Figures. Well, my rank is at a level where the government tolerates me for my performance. Also, the law enforcement has not caught my Yakuza in the act, yet. Either way, I can always bail them out. Vampires are a menace, a disease. Show no mercy. Prove to me that you can fight," Jinzo replied. "Put on this mask. Your Shadow Hunter alias will be Blue Dragon."

"You're giving me a ninja uniform," Zaku commented after he put on the silver mask. He wore black ninja outfit with dark blue shin guards, dark blue arm guards below his elbow, dark blue shoulder pads, and a silver vest over his upper body made of bullet proof material. Between his vest was a blue skull of a dragon and the silver mask covered his nose and lower face, a black hood worn over it. There were straps inside the hood which attached to the ends of the mask, keeping the hood over his head.

"Neat material, right? That is a multi-hundred thousand dollar uniform. Most Shadow Hunter uniforms cost only a couple dozen thousand. Nobody below the D Rank will be able to damage the uniform, but the impact is only lessened. The mask is a magical item, your ninja outfit appearing when you put it on. Easy wear and no tear. That's high quality stuff," Jinzo nodded. "Some Shadow Hunters have powers to make magical artifacts. Nations fight over them all the time. I have a few living among my own Yakuza. Only use your blue lightning as you don your Blue Dragon alias. Don't use any of the weapons I gave you, or your ice skills. This will be your unofficial Shadow Hunter alias. Best to not let the enemy know who you really are."

"What weapon do I use?" Zaku asked.

"A katana," Jinzo said, tossing him a Japanese, single-edged long sword. "The name of the katana is Void. This is a magical treasure fit for those below the D Rank. The sword will generate your blue lightning for you. You only need to manipulate it. It will appear whenever you don the mask from now on. This way, no one finds it and you don't accidentally use it. You do know how to use a sword?"

"I learned from enough kendo books back at the orphanage," Zaku answered as he strapped the katana onto his back. He drew the katana and noticed the blade was made of blackened gold. He guessed it was meteorite as gold could only come from meteors. The black manta ray leather grip felt nice and natural in his hands. "Good sword."

"Indeed it is. If you die, you prove you are like all the others. After all, we left before I signed the papers. Once you return, I'll sign the papers as you are taken to your new home," Jinzo said. "This is your chance to make something of yourself. You have my connections now. You are now the son of one of the most elite of Shadow Hunters of the Red Sun Empire. Seize this chance and slay them all."

Zaku's grip tightened on the katana and said, "I will not fail you."

Zaku cut open the rusted fence and pushed his way through. Blue lightning crackled along the blade as he looked on ahead. He breathed deeply before rushing forward, Jinzo and his men watching on. Zaku was the seventh child. He was more talented than the rest, but the six dead failures did not have to attack a coven too. Zaku's trial was the hardest by far.