"That is, until I met the Owl man." Says Tatsuki.

  Kito, finally showing an ounce of intrigue, slightly raises his eyebrows. "Owl Man?"

  "Yes. One night, after I came home from the bar, I went to bed, only to wake up to a cold breeze. The window was open. And I never sleep with it open. I instantly started freaking out. And right as I was about to get up, I saw a figure in the corner of my room. It was a tall man shrouded in a hooded silhouette. A cape that went almost all the way to the ground, and a mask that had the horns and shape of an owl.

  As much as I wanted to scream or fight back, my instincts told me pretend to be asleep. Something about it told me that trying to fight it would only end in my death. I was way past blasted, so maybe I was still semi-asleep. But I could feel its presence shuffle closer to my bed. I tightly closed my eyes, as it hovered over my head, staring at me.

  And then... I don't know what he did, but he did something to me. I went unconscious. And despite looking like it was all a bad dream, it was a couple days before I noticed new things about myself. I grew taller. My limbs seemed lankier. My canines that were dull grew back to a refined and sharp form. I started growing hair all over my body at a rapid pace. And I started craving bamboo all of a sudden, all the damn time."

  Kito narrows his brow. "Bamboo? There's nothing wrong about eating bamboo."

  "Yes, but I craved the raw bamboo. It drove me fucking insane. I tried to settle my hunger with all of my favorite foods. Broiled fish. Eel. Eggs. But no matter what I ate, I still had the urge to drive to Arashiyama to get a taste of some bamboo."

  "You didn't actually do that, did you?" Asks Kito

  "Of course not! But I couldn't help it. My stomach pangs grew louder. Cooked foods made me sicker. I got so anxious I started biting the sides of my fingers to cope with it. I started eating dishes with cooked bamboo. But it wasn't enough. I needed the sensation of eating the raw stock.

  And that's when the gray people started showing up."

  "Gray people?"

  "Yes. People with gray skin and hollow eyes. Most of them seemed saddened and bitter. I always avoided them. Yet, it seemed nobody else could see them." Tatsuki sighs. "Listen. I know this sounds stupid but I don't want to be blown off for sounding superstitious. I don't believe in all of that ghost crap but I know what I saw. So please, I just need you to believe me and-"

  "Just continue your story." Interrupts Kito. "We will discuss after you're done."

  "R-right." Tatsuki takes a deep breath before continuing. "And above all else, it was those eyes. I'm sure you've felt a sixth sense of sorts, right?"

  Kito stifles his chuckle. "More than you'd think. But in your regard, what do you mean?"

  "As if someone was staring at you at all times."

  Kito goes back to analyzing Tatsuki. "Not what I was expecting. So, no."

  "Well, aside from my body and mind betraying me, this sensation of something always staring at me persisted. I don't know where it was, but I knew that damn owl was watching me from afar. Most of the time it was an owl. But there was only one time I saw him. The man with the cloak and mask, staring at me from a window. Yet when I blinked, he was gone. First it was frequent. Then only once a week. And then eventually, I never saw him again.

  But by then, I already made up my mind.

  I couldn't handle living in that city, knowing that the owl knew my every position. I sold everything from my apartment, buried all of the memorabilia, and I started living in other cities, hopping from job to job. It wasn't the most stable of life, but it definitely gave me peace of mind.

  And from there, I saw your flyers, heard what you had to say in some of your showings, and I really like your ideals. I thought you could be a similar man to Saizo. He was a great man after all, and I think you could achieve something awesome too. Perhaps with more control than he could. And... that's where we meet here."

  Kito chuckles before clapping, then standing up on the box.

  "Well! Harada, just as I was about to say that story could've been condensed into five minutes, I was still entertained. And more importantly, I learned a lot more about you and that Saizo fellow, just by listening."

  Tatsuki tilted his head. "Uhh, I'm glad that you honor Saizo's memory but he's already dead. I don't know why you'd want to memorize his legacy."

  Kito then squints. "Then why the hell did you tell me the gang's entire history and his legacy."

  "That uh... that's a good point. Sorry, I tend to ramble a lot."

  "It's because you're drunk, isn't it?"

  "Wha- I'm not drunk." Says Tatsuki loudly.

  "But you have alcohol in your system, don't you?"

  Tatsuki goes quiet for a second before reluctantly saying "Yes. I apologize."

  Bara, in the back, shakes his head.

  Kito scoffs. "It's alright. Just don't lie again. Better yet, don't drink at all from now on."

  Tatsuki nervously chuckles. "This guy, eh?" He says, pointing at Kito while looking at the others.

  All of Kito's men glare at Tatsuki.

  He clears his throat and waits for Kito to say something.

  "Right. Well, considering your past, I'm sure you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty."

  Tatsuki nods. "Yes. I serve well as a muscle. I can hurt people all you want but... I refuse any sort of extreme violence. And I'll only harass the target, not their family members or anyone not involved with them. I don't want to be involved in that aspect anymore."

  Kasumi and Bara both look at each other and share the same look.

  Kito tilts his head. "I understand not hurting the innocent, but let's say... you're in a self defense situation. You're not going to kill someone- despite them clearly wanting to kill you?"

  Tatsuki hesitates. "That's a hard question, but I suppose I'll just have to beat them before they kill me."

  Kito looks visibly displeased. "Well. It seems you've got a bit to learn. Nevertheless, going back to your condition, I want to test something. You mentioned that you witnessed people with grey skin, which interests me. Though the transformation on your body is odd, perhaps its a hormonal imbalance. But there's a higher chance it's something else; this test will confirm what's going on. Wait here."

  Kito walks over to the exit, leaves the building for eight minutes, before jogging back inside. He's holding something in the palm of his hand. He sits back down and opens his palm up.

  Inside is a green gerbil sized creature. It has three eyes, a mouth with teeth peaking out of its lips, and sharp quills for hair.

  Tatsuki squints at the hand, before making a startled face. He backs away almost immediately. "What the hell is that?"

  "Ah, so you can see this." Says Kito with a slight smile. "Why are you so scared? It's so small."

  "I don't care if it's tiny, that thing is... is... just, what is that?"

  Kito responds as the tiny creature bites his fingers and crawls around his hand.

  "This, is a spirit. The people with grey skins are remnant psyches. And you, have been cursed."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Tatsuki blankly looks at Kito and the spirit. "...What?"

  Kito then briefly lectures the world of spirits and magic to Tatsuki.

  Tatsuki is shaken, shivering from the bomb shell of ghosts being real, among the fact that there are people out there who could level cities on their own. And all while the government knows and is actively involved in all of this.

  Kito squints. "It's not that big of a deal, Tatsuki."

  Tatsuki tries to steel himself. "Y-yeah, of course not. I'm not scared, I'm just a little uh... overwhelmed."

  "Hey, it's okay," says Kito with a calm voice. "It's a bit much at first, but it's just another aspect of life that you need to learn. For now, all that you need to know is that the life of spirits-"

  Kito then crushes the spirit in his hand, leaving only a puddle of slime, tufts of hair, and guts.

  "Don't matter. They are vermin, and nothing more."

  "But, what about Remnant psychos...psyche- ghosts. Aren't they spirits too?"

  "Technically, they can become spirits. Why do you ask?"

  "Aren't they human?"

  Kito laughs. "They were. And now they aren't. They're unaware that they're simply an echo, or an illusion of someone they used to be. Let's say I have a wooden ship, and it breaks. If I use as many usable pieces to remake the ship, is it the same ship?"

  "Yes, right?"

  "No. No matter how many pieces of the original it uses, and no matter how close it is to the original, it'll never be the same. It's not a human with a soul, but a creature that's spiraling into instincts and pure emotion. Remember that."

  Tatsuki worriedly shakes his head. "Alright."

  "To pause the whole magic thing for a sec, I want to ask: why do you want to help me?"

  Tatsuki smiles. "I thought you'd never ask. You embody the masculine spirit that not only Japan needs, but I think the modern world needs. People are too caught up on being sensitive, and it makes men weaker; complacent."

  Kito smiles. "I'm glad you agree."

  Tatsuki continues. "I don't relate to the whole fisherman aspect, but what I can recognize is that you're a hard working man, and I can always stand by that. You're vouching for less tourists and foreign soldiers on our land, and it's about time they respect our country. To hell with them! It's about time we got someone to let them know how we feel!"

  Kasumi smiles. Daiki shakes his head in approval.

  "I may have a little bit of issues," agrees Tatsuki. "But I feel like with your help, this'll be the perfect place for me to pick up my life. And in return, you'll get a damn good helping hand."

  Kito smiles. "Well lucky for you, I like what I'm hearing. But I'm sure that with all you've heard, there's going to be lots of challenges. Are you okay with that?"

  "Yes sir. I've been through hell and back. If I can survive getting jumped by 16 men, then I can survive anything that comes at me."

  Kito raises his eyebrows. "16? Impressive. Though I'm liking what I'm hearing, I want to ask, are you sure you have no connections that would help with our campaign?"

  Tatsuki bobs his head side to side. "Well in terms of politics, no."

  "And there's no one else that you know that could help us in any other way?" Asks Kito.

  "Well... I think Minowa is a manager at grocery store... let's see uh... another friend owns a food stand... oh, I do have a cousin that works at a local advertising company."

  Kito's disappointed look morphs into one of optimism. "Advertising? Do they do commercials?"

  "Yes. Again, it's local, so it's not going to launch you any huge levels of popularity."

  "But it's still better than nothing. In this level of our campaign, anything helps."

  "Alright...I'll see what I can do."

  "Finally," says Kito. "I want to make one thing absolutely clear. I'm an honest man so I'll tell it to you straight: if you join us, you're entering a very dangerous world. There will be people that will hunt you down without hesitation. Do you remember how I mentioned that the government is involved with magic?"

  Tatsuki's voice grows hoarse. "Y-yes. What's the issue?"

  "Well, let's just say that I got my hands dirty, and the government is now trying to hunt us down. They want to kill us, Tatsuki. Do you understand this?"

  Tatsuki pauses. "Yes. Wait. But...wait... don't tell me that earlier today with the apartment-"

  "That's right. That was an attempt at my life."

  "And they were risking the lives of innocents?"

  "Correct."

  "But that doesn't- that's..."

  Tatsuki stares at the ground for a couple of minutes. "Why were they after you? What did you do?"

  "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you."

  Tatsuki's steel face contrast his loud, thumping heart. The rapid beats hammer against his chest, to the point where the only thing he could hear was his own heart beat. "I'm sorry," starts Tatsuki. "It's just a lot to consider."

  "Don't worry," says Kito with a smile. "Despite all the odds, are you brave enough to help out your prefecture?"

  Tatsuki's eyes bounce from Kito, then Bara, then Daiki, then to Kasumi, all surrounding him. The fact that they're all alone in a building, while the large body of water is next to them. He's survived 16 men. But these men aren't human.

  Tatsuki starts. "Kito. If I say no, what will happen?"

  Kito's smile evaporates into a quiet, neutral expression. Kito stares at Tatsuki for a couple seconds, before giving a delayed response.

  "We'll just have to see."

  After another minute,Tatsuki presents his hand and nods. "Alright Kito. I'll join you."

  Kito smiles again, walks over to him, and accepts the handshake. "Good choice. Welcome to the team."

  Tatsuki nervously chuckles. "Heheh, well with that, this calls for celebration, right? How about a drink, huh? Let's go to the bar and- and it'll be on me. What'dya say?"

  Kito and his men all stare at Tatsuki.

  "Harada," says Daiki. "We don't drink. Also I'm not old enough."

  Tatsuki's forced smile evaporates. Though his heart may have stopped thumping, it still sinks.

  "Is-is there anything else for tonight?" Asks Tatsuki.

  "One last thing," says Kito, standing up and walking over to Tatsuki. "You mentioned a sense of power earlier, correct? And we confirmed you're cursed. So, I want to see how far you've gotten with your abilities."

  Kito stands face to face with Tatsuki.

  "One minute. I need you to prove your strength. Wail on me, try your hardest, whatever."

  "A-are you sure?"

  "I'm literally asking for it. Impress me."

  Tatsuki shrugs and assumes a lackluster fighting stance. For someone who's been in plenty of street fights, "experienced" did not mean the same as "skilled"

  Kito's eye already twitched.

  With an over exaggerated wind up, Tatsuki balled his fist and coated it with ki.

  "HEEE-ORA!" Yells Tatsuki in an ugly tone.

  The balled up fist slams directly on Kito's nose.

  He doesn't flinch, budge, or even blink.

  Tatsuki, surprised, takes his hand off of Kito's unbothered expression.

  In response, Kito slaps Tatsuki. Tatsuki is sent flying eight feet away. A red imprint of Kito's hand is on Tatsuki's face.

  Breathing haggardly, and with his senses blurred, Tatsuki frantically tries to get up.

  Only to be greeted by Kito's foot, one inch away from his face.

  "Aaaaaand, time." Says Kito. He pulls back his foot. "After four seconds, I saw what I needed to see." He shakes his head. "We have a lot of training to do."

  "I thought you said to wail on you?" Asks Tatsuki, trying to get up.

  "Yes. And I also said to prove your strength. In those four seconds, I saw: your strength, durability, offence, defense, speed, and experience. They were all very sloppy."

  Kito helps Tatsuki up and wraps his arm around his shoulder.

  "But, it's not the end of the world. I just need you to focus and learn everything on the first try because with the heat under our asses, you're not going to survive. Granted, you're stronger than the average human. But that's child's play in this world. Starting tomorrow, we'll start training. In the meantime, this is all I need for tonight. So man the fuck up because one mistake will be death. Got it?"

  Kito playfully smacks Tatsuki's back.

  "OW-"

  Kito scrunches his nose. "That wasn't even that hard."

  After saying his goodbyes, Tatsuki bows and frantically leaves the harbor.

  Driving in the dark, Tatsuki trembles. Four million thoughts race through his head. Unknown to him however, he is not alone.

  After driving 15 minutes away, Tatsuki finds a bar and starts downing beer after beer, shot after shot, forcing himself to forget about what is about to come.

  From behind, a hand firmly grasps on Tatsuki's shoulder.

  Tatsuki turns around.

  It's Kasumi, with a rather annoyed face.

  "What did we just tell you?" Asks Kasumi.

  Tatsuki, stunned, doesn't say a word.

  Kasumi points at the alcohol in front of Tatsuki.

  "No alcohol."

  Almost starting to break down in tears, Tatsuki drunkenly latches on to Kasumi.

  "Please! Please don't tell Kito, I'm begging you. I can't do this man, I can't! This is too much, I don't want to die. And I don't want to... to..."

  "Woah- HEY, quit it dude!" Responds Kasumi. He turns his head away, trying to avoid the stench of alcohol.

  As the other tenants look over, and the bartender comes towards them, Kasumi holds his hands up, saying he's fine. The bartender glares but goes back to his business.

  "You gotta calm the fuck down." Whispers Kasumi. "I won't tell Kito, just tell me what's going on."

  Tatsuki hugs him even tighter in response. "Oh thank you."

  Kasumi notices a patio section of the bar. It had nobody out there, most likely because it was cold.

  Kasumi motions for Tatsuki to move over to the section before coming up to the bartender.

  "I'll get an Asahi beer. The smallest bottle you have." He gives the bartender his debit card.

  The bartender scans it, only to give it back momentarily.

  "This card doesn't work."

  Confused, Kasumi makes a face. "What? Try it again."

  After 3 swipes, the same error message appears on the screen.

  "Tsk."

  Kasumi opens his wallet and instead pays with Yen bills.

  A call from Bara rings Kasumi's phone. Kasumi shuts it off. "(I'll get back to him after I'm done with...this.)"

  Kasumi, with his beer, eventually meets up with Tatsuki outside.

  "I thought you couldn't have alcohol?" Asks Tatsuki.

  Kasumi sighs. "It's a lifestyle thing because alcohol is just really bad for you like... it's awful. But it's not like its a contract or religious thing. Just a thing we don't indulge on. One beer won't hurt."

  Tatsuki pushes his index fingers together.

  "So you're saying that I can do the same thing?-"

  "Nice try. No. This is just a one time thing. You're new to the crew so I'll let this one night slide. So what's going on?"

  Tatsuki nods. "Alright... well, it's just that I don't want to kill people anymore. That's not who I am man! I left that behind."

  "But you said you could act as a muscle. What's the problem now?"

  "Hurting and killing isn't the same thing. Just rough 'em up, you know? But I'm hearing that this whole situation is kill or be killed, it's... it's a lot man."

  Kasumi nods and understands. He takes his first sip and goes quiet for a little bit. He makes sure that nobody near them is listening. The coast is clear; both in terms of people being absent, and the fact that the bar was near a pond.

  "Yeah, I understand man." Says Kasumi. "I actually went through a similar thing when I started helping Kito out. But sometimes, no matter how bad it is, sometimes it's for the better."

  Kasumi stares directly at Tatsuki's eyes and says in a low tone.

  "Let me tell you about the time I killed a pedophile."