“Ah this is soooo good!” Nikko exclaimed as she slurped on her ramen.

“It is,” Sekai said, seated next to Nikko at the ramen bar. “Shinozaki Ramen is quite a popular ramen bar in the Mabaroshi Central. The owner’s son is part of the Mabaroshi SCS too. You’ll see him around the HQ sometimes.”

Nikko picked up a few more strands of ramen with her chopsticks and turned to face Sekai. “So uh, this spirit chaser thing. I’m one of those, right?”

“Well,” Sekai scratched her right ear. “Not exactly yet. You’ve got to graduate from the Spirit Chaser Academy first, which usually takes 2 years. We’ve already enrolled you into the Academy.”

“So this will basically replace my high school life.”

“Pretty much,” Sekai replied. “After graduating, you can join a Spirit Chaser Squad, or SCS for short. Depending on the elemental attributes of your spirit energy, you’ll be placed in one of the four SCSs around the Renault.”

“Renault?” Nikko asked.

“The capital of the alternate realm. Our government system runs there.”

“I see. But you mentioned one of four SCSs? Koduro-san said something about him being the leader of the mapo tofu SCS or something like that.”

Sekai burst into a fit of laughter. “M-Mapo tofu? That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day!”

“Uh. You’re welcome,” Nikko said as Sekai tried to hold back her laughs.

“Either way, haha,” Sekai settled down and wiped a tear from her eye. “We are the Mabaroshi SCS, based in the Mabaroshi District, south of Renault. Spirit chasers whose spirit energy is of the wind attribute come to us. We’re also known for our research and technology facilities. Daisuke-kun is our commander, I’m his 2nd in command.”

“Right. And the other 3 SCSs are part of separate districts?”

“Precisely. On the east side is the Yukinokishi District, a snowy and mountainous region whose SCS recruits water-based spirit energy users. West of us is the Hanoarashi District, surrounded by a dense jungle. Earth-based spirit energy users move there to join their SCS. Up north is the Kazenshi District, a dry desert landscape where fire-based spirit energy users go to join their SCS.”

“So will I stay here in Mabaroshi?” Nikko asked as she slurped up the last strands of her ramen.

“We’ve analysed your spirit energy and the results show that you will most likely have the wind attribute, so yes you’ll remain with us,” Sekai smiled. “But in a few days from now, you’ll be travelling to the Renault to learn the basics of being a spirit chaser in the Academy.”

“It’s gonna be like starting high school again,” Nikko groaned.

“Trust me, it’s more fun than high school,” Sekai said with a weak smile.

Nikko thought back to how Sekai mentioned that she was not happy with her previous mortal life. She was curious and wanted to ask, but chose not to out of respect.

Sekai was able to read Nikko’s expression however. “You must be wondering what my life in the mortal realm was like, am I right?”

“Uh,” Nikko paused. “Y-Yeah, I guess I’m kinda curious.”

“There’s no harm in telling you,” Sekai said as she looked Nikko straight in the eye. “I was born and raised in Tadami, Fukushima. I guess it was a pretty alright place, but I just don’t have the best memories of my childhood. You see, my mom passed away when I was 3 years old.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear,” Nikko said softly.

“Don’t be sorry, I barely knew or even remembered her since I was so little,” Sekai replied. “But my dad… he didn’t take my mother’s passing well. He would stay up late at night and drink excessively. He’d also get quite violent, it was kinda scary.” Sekai put both hands on the table, fists clenched tightly. “One day the police had to come in cos my neighbours grew weary of my dad’s depressed and violent behaviour. They took me away to an orphanage as they thought dad could not raise me properly.”

Nikko bit her lower lip. She sort of understood the feeling of only having one parent, but Sekai’s situation was so much different, so much worse compared to her. At least Nikko’s mother remained strong. At least Nikko had good memories of her father and actually knew him.

“The orphanage wasn’t such a great place growing up either,” Sekai continued. “I was the only girl there, so all the boys used to bully me. They’d always get me to pack up after we brought our toys or crayons out, and I’d always have to clean the dishes after each meal. I was always around boys, so I kinda picked up some boyish habits I guess. I mean, that’s what a lot of people tell me anyway.”

Nikko could see where she was coming from. Despite Sekai’s long hair and beautiful features, she seemed to always stand chest out and shoulders wide, and her gestures have not been typically feminine either. “You do seem like a tomboy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sekai said as she swatted the air in front of her. “But since I never really had much supervision at the orphanage, the boys still bullied and threatened me as we grew older. They began to force me to steal from convenience stores and all that. They were a pretty rebellious bunch. By the time we got into high school, they had connections with some shady people to get them cigarette and alcohol. Not gonna lie, I was drawn into their crowd as well.”

“Seriously?” Nikko asked. “On a first impression, I would not have thought you used to be like that.”

“I hated it,” Sekai said immediately. “I just hated that life so much that I didn’t really care anymore. The alcohol helped a bit, but it just made me feel worse as each day passed. But when I turned 16, my life changed completely.”

“The Vallista attack?”

“Mhm,” Sekai nodded. “Of course I was scared when it appeared before me, but Daisuke-kun came to the rescue. He told me all about the alternate realm and the spirit chasers, as well as how I could become one of them by dying at the hands of a spirit chaser. The sacrifice of forfeiting my mortal life, as you can imagine, didn’t faze me at all. Hunting down Vallista and protecting innocent lives sounded way better than living the delinquent life as a high schooler.”

“W-Wow Hanamori-san,” Nikko said. “You’ve had such a harsh life, and you’re here now as Mabaroshi’s 2nd in command. You’re one tough girl.”

“Hah,” Sekai chuckled. “Anyway, just call me Sekai. We’ll be working together a lot from now on, we can drop the formalities.”

“Oh, a-alright, Sekai-san.”

Sekai’s lowered her head. “I’m just really thankful for Daisuke-kun. I’d even go far as to say I owe him my life. But then again, I know he’s had a rough past too.”

“Really? Everyone seems to have to have a bad past.”

“Daisuke-kun probably has the worst out of everyone I know,” Sekai said. “I’m not gonna tell you about it though, you’ll learn about it from Daisuke-kun himself one day.”

“One day, huh?” Nikko muttered. Daisuke has always left a mysterious impression on her, ever since her first encounter with him during the first day of high school. His piercing silver eyes seemed ever so sharp, as if he was constantly searching for an answer to something. What was his past like? How has it affected his present life? Was Hanabei Mina a significant character in his life? How many of his friends or family were murdered by her?

“Who exactly is Hanabei Mina, by the way?” Nikko asked. “She was previously a spirit chaser, right?”

“Well to be quite honest, I’ve never met her personally,” Sekai answered. “She was around in Mabaroshi was before I got here. But yes, she was a spirit chaser of the Mabaroshi SCS, and graduated from the Academy at the same time as Daisuke-kun.”

“I’m guessing they used to be close.”

“Very close, actually,” Sekai looked down at her hands. “Hanabei Mina was Daisuke-kun’s girlfriend before she suddenly turned against the Mabaroshi.”