Initial of pride

The rain never stops in Kurogane City.

It only changes direction.

⸻

Scene 1 — The Descent

Miro follows Lola through a maze of back alleys, abandoned subway tunnels, and rusted service corridors beneath the city. The deeper they go, the more the air changes.

Less like rain.

More like iron.

They stop in front of what looks like an old freight elevator buried inside a condemned building.

No sign.

No guards.

No emblem.

Lola presses her palm against the steel door.

For a moment, nothing happens.

Then a faint red sigil glows under her skin.

The elevator groans open.

She steps inside.

Miro hesitates.

“You coming,” she says calmly, “or are you going back to school tomorrow?”

The doors start closing.

He jumps in.

The elevator descends.

And descends.

And descends.

No floor numbers.

Just darkness.

⸻

Scene 2 — The Underground

The doors open to a vast underground chamber carved into stone and steel.

Training grounds.

Medical bays.

Weapon racks.

Screens displaying live surveillance of the city.

And people.

Teenagers.

Young adults.

Scarred veterans.

Some wearing masks.

Some sharpening blades.

Some staring blankly at nothing.

A crimson emblem burns across the far wall:

A blade piercing a broken halo.

Miro whispers, “This is…”

“The Assassins,” Lola finishes.

No dramatic speech.

No applause.

Just cold acknowledgment.

Several eyes turn toward him.

One boy with silver hair smirks. “New kid?”

A tall girl with bandaged arms studies him silently.

A man in a black coat steps forward.

Older. Calm. Controlled.

This is not a fighter.

This is a commander.

“You awakened the mark naturally,” the man says, eyes fixed on Miro’s wrist. “Interesting.”

Miro instinctively hides it.

The man continues.

“My name is Director Kaien. You are not an Assassin yet.”

A screen flickers on behind him.

Images of crime scenes.

Police corruption files.

Brutal executions.

“We do not kill randomly,” Kaien says. “We remove imbalance.”

Lola doesn’t react.

Miro shifts uncomfortably.

Kaien’s gaze sharpens.

“But to stand here, you must survive initiation.”

⸻

Scene 3 — The Test

The training arena is circular.

Steel walls.

Concrete floor.

No weapons allowed.

Only Haitan.

Kaien’s voice echoes through speakers.

“Awaken it.”

Miro looks at Lola.

She doesn’t help.

Across from him, the silver-haired boy steps forward.

“Name’s Riku,” he says casually. “Try not to die.”

The signal sounds.

Riku vanishes.

Miro barely registers movement before he’s slammed into the wall.

Air explodes from his lungs.

Pain spreads across his ribs.

Riku stands over him.

“Your mark flared yesterday. Use it.”

Miro clutches his wrist.

It burns.

The symbol spreads darker across his skin.

Riku’s foot presses against his chest.

“Awaken it,” he repeats.

Memories flood in—

Failing grades.

His mother’s disappointment.

The alley.

The dead officer’s eyes.

Something inside him cracks.

The mark pulses.

Black veins spread up his arm.

The air around him distorts.

Riku suddenly stiffens.

“What—”

The pain in Miro’s ribs disappears.

Riku screams.

The impact he dealt transfers back into his own body.

He’s launched backward as if struck by invisible force.

Silence fills the arena.

Miro stares at his hands.

Riku struggles to stand, coughing blood.

Kaien watches carefully.

“Pain redistribution,” he murmurs. “Interesting.”

Miro’s vision blurs.

The pain comes back—

But doubled.

He collapses.

Blood trickles from his nose.

The mark flickers violently.

Kaien speaks calmly:

“His Haitan exchanges burden. Damage is not erased. It is moved.”

Lola finally steps forward, catching Miro before he hits the ground fully.

“You survived,” she says quietly.

Riku wipes blood from his mouth and smirks.

“Guess you’re not useless.”

⸻

Scene 4 — The Warning

Later.

Medical bay.

Bandages wrap around Miro’s torso.

He stares at the ceiling.

“So I passed?”

Lola sits nearby, cleaning her poisoned Tonto.

“You’re alive.”

“That’s not the same answer.”

She finally looks at him.

“Your ability is dangerous.”

He frowns. “Dangerous how?”

“You can move pain. But the body remembers. And the mind pays interest.”

Silence.

He laughs weakly.

“It’s fine. I just need money.”

She doesn’t laugh.

Across the room, Director Kaien watches through a glass window.

An assistant speaks quietly.

“Police scanners detected his awakening last night.”

Kaien nods.

“Then time is shorter than expected.”

⸻

Final Scene

Night.

Miro stands alone in the underground corridor.

He flexes his hand.

The mark pulses faintly.

For a moment—

He hears something.

A whisper.

Not external.

Internal.

A voice layered beneath his thoughts.

“Burden must be paid.”

He grips his wrist tightly.

Above ground, police sirens echo through the rain.

On a massive surveillance screen in Police Headquarters—

Miro’s face appears.

A female officer with sharp eyes studies the image.

“New Assassin candidate,” she says coldly. “Track him.”

Back underground—

Miro doesn’t know it yet.

But the war has already noticed him.

And it never ignores new weapons.

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