Ryu glanced blankly at the floor, his head still buzzing from the memories from the other night.

Ryu, you have to get out of here!

Rika, I’m not leaving without you!

He’s….strong! He won’t…leave!  I’ll distract him and you find a way….come back-

He snapped out of it, hearing the grating metal of the door to his left slide open and two figures step into the small room.  He didn’t bother to look him, still trying to recall the last conversation he had with Rika.  

The chains on his wrist were suddenly unlocked as the two figures sat down.  He still kept his head down, wondering what they were going to do to him.

“My name is Kaiden Hart.”  

The accent was mixed with British but he was fluent enough in Japanese that Ryu could understand him.  He glanced up to find a well dressed male in his late twenties with blond hair brushed back and blue eyes. He was in an expensive suit and sitting beside a large and muscled darkly tanned male dressed in leather sitting across from him.

Kaiden nodded in greeting at Ryu while he elbowed Zion, who cleared his throat.

“Hey, I’m Zion Baracus.”  Ryu’s eyes widened to find the bigger guy speaking Japanese as well, with a hint of French.  Zion gestured to himself and Kai.  “We’re hunters.”

Ryu looked at them in confusion as Kai sighed and leaned forward.  “You probably don’t know about hunters since you’ve been in a tower for a few years but the world reacted very quickly when that meteor shower changed everything.  We’ve been trying to get into the towers to rescue any survivors from the first meteor shower.”  

Zion nodded.  “Yeah, the stars all fell from the sky and bam, all these crazy towers popped up.  It sucked people in and some stars actually hit people and gave them powers.  So we created guilds across the globe to combat these towers.  We’ve been trying to enter them as they appear but you’re actually the first to come out on your own.”  

Kai elbowed Zion again, muttering about throwing way too much information but Ryu absorbed it all and leaned forward suddenly.

“My sister.  Did she get out of the tower too?” He watched both of their faces but sank back in his chair.

Zion scratched the back of his neck while Kai looked grimly at him.

“Unfortunately the tower disappeared the moment you exited.”

Ryu glanced back down, his mind spinning again and quickly wondering how he was going to get back into the tower.

“Take me with you.”  He glanced back up at the two.  “I’ll take you into the tower, if that’s what you want.  I just want to get my sister back.”

The two looked at each other before staring at him.  Zion grinned in agreement while Kai looked thoughtful.

“It’s not that easy.”  Kai tapped at the manila folder he had set down on the table earlier.  “We have to catch you up on a few things before we can even consider getting you out on the field.”

Ryu frowned, glancing at the folder.  “Look, you guys seem nice, but my sister is in trouble in that tower.  I’m all she has.”  

Zion looked sympathetic while Kai tapped at the folder again.  “Yes, we know.  Twins, born in Tokyo. Mother passed away due to a sickness.  Father is still living but travels often for work, leaving the twins to fend for themselves.  At age seventeen, you both encounter a tower and disappeared for ten years. “ He recited from memory, watching Ryu start to become cautious.  

Zion whistled under his breath.  “What my sometimes insensitive friend is trying to say,”  Zion raised his hands in surrender, a wry smile on his friendly face.  “Is that we’ve lost friends and family too.  We want nothing more than to conquer as many dungeons as you and save as many as we can.”

“However, we need to prep you before we allow you go jumping into a tower, especially after coming back so soon.”  Kai finished, watching Ryu’s expression the whole time.

Ryu glared at him but slowly nodded his head.  “Alright, get me up to speed and then we go hunting.”

Zion laughed heartily, reaching over to pat Ryu on the shoulder.  “My friend, your bravery will be an asset to the team.  Welcome to the world of hunters!”

Ryu relaxed and reached out to shake the hand that Kai offered across the table.  

“Eyyyy now that’s more like it!”  Zion boomed, slapping a hand around Kai’s shoulders while he grinned at Ryu.

No soon did the three finally reach an agreement, the compound slightly shook, fine dust dropping onto the folder on the table.

Zion immediately slipped the knife into his hands, glancing around the room and muttering in French under his breath while Kai stood up and looked towards the door that opened.

“Code red.  A dungeon has appeared.  Code red.”  A voice from the speaker in the corner rang out while Ryu tensed, standing up and watching the two immediately taking a call from the watch they had on their wrists.

Kai swore under his breath and immediately left the room.

“What’s happening?” Ryu asked, as Zion gestured to him to follow.  

“This is your trial, my friend.”  Zion sheathed his knife and threw him a belt that a nearby guard passed to him in the hallway. “Trial by fire it seems.  We head to the dungeon that has appeared.”

Ryu caught the belt, noting the various pockets and slung it over his shoulder as he kept up with the long strides.  They finally reached the end of the hallway where more guards waited.  At the sight of Zion, they raised their arms to salute him and he nodded, his expression turning grim.

“Where are the others?” 

Ryu scrambled into what seems like armoured vest a nearby guard was offering him along with another belt with even heavier pockets.  

“Hunter Rose and hunter Baracus are on route sir.”  

Zion nodded again before he checked his weapons around his waist and the knife on a leather band around one large bicep before he looked over his shoulder at Ryu.

“You will also be meeting the rest of our group.”  He clapped a hand on his shoulder and the guards made way for them to pass through the door.

Ryu squinted as he exited first and scanned the area where there was a flurry of activity.  More guards were commanding groups as they divided into various armoured vehicles.  

“We’re taking my baby.”  Zion announced, already walking off into the opposite direction of the activity.  Ryu followed him to a small hangar where what looked like a modified armoured vehicle in matte black was parked neatly in the building.  The lights flickered and the vehicle beeped, the doors automatically opening skyward, looking like sharp metallic wings.

Zion gently blew a puff of air on a spot in the hood and rubbed it with a side of his shirt and grinned at Ryu.

“She’s a wild one but she’ll take you where you need to go.”  He entered the driver’s side and waved to Ryu.  Ryu flashed a small smile and hopped into the passenger side, marvelling at the door automatically closing as he put on his seatbelt.

Zion blasted the music and put on his glasses before grinning at Ryu.  “Let’s get to it, shall we?”

—

A few minutes later, Ryu could have kissed the ground as he exited the car.  He just met Zion but he should have known he would be the type to drive like a maniac, tackling Tokyo’s narrow alleyways like with a hair’s breadth of crashing into everything.

The door shut behind him and Zion’s combat boots appeared before him as he tried to catch his breath.

“Look at that.  We managed to get here first!”

Ryu glanced up and was about to tell him off about the drive when he noticed the large towering structure behind Zion.  It wasn’t the glittering onyx tower he had first seen years ago but it was still overpowering.  It was dark grey and several stories high that it looked endless, reaching up into the sky.  He could feel an ominous energy from it and stood slowly up.

“This one has got to be A-rank dungeon at least.”  Zion raised his watch, trying to figure out how to call Kai.  

“It’s S-rank actually, big brother.”

Both glanced to their right to find a tall and athletic built hunter leaning against a matte black motorcycle, outfitted with the same material and design as the armoured cars Ryu saw earlier.  He could see the similar features and style, where Zion dressed in a sleeveless shirt and black military pants, his sister was dressed in sleeveless turtleneck under a bulletproof vest and military pants.  Her braided hair sported small golden cuffs along with similar cuffs down her ear.  Whirling tattoos covered her biceps similar to Zion.

She walked over to pat her brother’s arm before smiling at Ryu.  “You must be the newest member, yes?”  She asked, already readying her weapons as she glanced at the tower.

Ryu slowly nodded.  “I don’t know about member but I’m here for the same reason.  To take down this dungeon.”

Her eyes glittered as she adjusted the large hunting knife strapped to her thigh.  “I  think I like you.  The name’s Zariah by the way.”  

Zion gasped, shaking his head.  “You should run while you can my friend.  She is an excellent hunter but frightening as a pursuer of romance.  She can’t even take care of a plant.”

She jabbed him in the ribs as she smiled sweetly at Ryu.  “Do not listen to the ramblings of an old man. His exes run in horror at the sound of that monstrosity.” She pointed to his car with a roll of her eyes and slow grin.

Zion pretended to be winded, holding his ribs.  “See?  She solves everything with violence.  You deserve better my friend.”

Ryu couldn’t help but smile at the siblings with a pang.  He could only hope he would have the chance to joke and live carefree again with his sister.

Zion tugged on one of her braids while she stomped on his foot.

“Seems like everyone’s here.”  Ryu glanced to his left to see Kai and another figure who was most likely the guards mentioned was Hunter Rose.  She was almost as tall as Kai, despite being of Asian descent but just as imposing.  Both Kai and the other hunter had changed into a similar outfit like Zion and Zariah, with a black long sleeved shirt and bulletproof vest and army pants. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a tight braided ponytail and Zion moved to hug her in greeting, lighting tugging on her braid.

The hunter glanced at Ryu and smiled.  “I’m Gianna Rose.  We’ll get you better acquainted with everyone after we tackle that.” 

The siblings straightened up and nodded as they joined the group.  “I have one rule.” She eyed Zion especially before setting her hazel gaze on Ryu.  “We enter as a team and we leave as a team.”

Zion raised his fist in the air.  “No one left behind!”

Kai nodded encouragingly at the group, also glancing at Ryu.  “Charge forward.”