[Scene opens – rooftop, after the battle. Rain now soft, silence eerie.]
Jin stood there, the rain cooling his skin, steam rising from the soul energy that still clung to his arm like fading embers. The blade had vanished—dissolved into thin air the moment the creature disintegrated into smoke.
His heart was still thundering in his chest, but he didn't feel scared anymore. Just... awake.
"Okay," he said, turning to the girl.
"So let's start with your name, mysterious sword chick."
She stared at him, like he was a ghost.
"…Tsukiko."
Her voice was quiet, precise. "Tsukiko Hoshigami. First Division, Recon Squad."
"Cool. I'm Jin. Jin Kuroya. First Division of Skipping School and Beating Up Jerks."
Tsukiko didn't laugh.
"That shouldn't have been possible."
She took a step closer, eyes sharp. "You're not part of the Order. You have no record, no training. And yet a Kesshinken chose you."
"…Kesshinken?" Jin raised an eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes. "Soul-bound weapons. Forged from the essence of ancient warriors. They choose their wielder. Not the other way around."
"Right," Jin said. "So you're telling me I got chosen by some ancient soul blade in the middle of getting attacked by a demon. Sick."
Tsukiko didn't appreciate his tone. "You joke now, but this is serious. That thing—it wasn't just after you randomly."
She looked up at the sky. "Something stirred tonight. Something big."
---
[Cut to: Underground realm – The Kuragami Faction HQ]
Dark. Claustrophobic. Voices echo like wind through a crypt.
A tall figure wrapped in black bone armor walks through a corridor of whispering spirits. His face is hidden behind a shattered mask, cracked in the middle. A beast in human shape.
"He's awakened…" the figure growled.
"Another wielder has surfaced. The Crimson Eclipse… has begun."
A dozen robed followers kneel behind him, chanting.
"Kuroya… That name hasn't echoed in the spirit lines in centuries."
The masked man grinned.
"Then it's time we make him remember what his bloodline really is."
---
[Cut back to: Jin's Apartment – later that night]
Tsukiko sat in the corner of his room, arms crossed, katana by her side.
Jin was pacing.
"So lemme get this straight: I got a haunted sword living in my chest, demon things called Yomurei want to eat me, and you're some elite ghost-hunting ninja trying to babysit me?"
"Correct."
"Cool. And you're just gonna crash here like it's normal?"
"Also correct."
Jin sighed. "This day's been absolutely insane."
Tsukiko stood.
"You've been marked. That blade won't stay quiet forever. You need training. Protection. A place in the Order."
"…You mean like a secret spirit school or something?"
"Exactly. You're coming with me tomorrow. To the Rekikan."
Jin blinked. "The what now?"
Tsukiko looked at him, serious as death.
"The realm between life and death. The base of the Reiki Order. Your new home… and your only hope of surviving what's coming."