One Above All

Chapter 9: Clash of Worlds.

Notes: Enjoy

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The sun was beginning to emerge in the city called Tokyo; people swarmed the streets, each heading to a different destination but on the same path that guided them. It was Friday morning, precisely 7:30 AM; at this hour, the younger kids should have been in school, taking their last classes before the weekend. However, there was one child who decided to break this rule, just for today.

Hiro Takahashi gazed out of the car window at the buildings and people passing by. It was a bit chilly outside, but he wore a blue hoodie, custom-fit black jeans, and white sneakers. Seated beside him at the wheel was Kishibe, his guardian and future teacher. Kishibe's expression remained stoic, and his gaze was always fixed on the road. He wore his standard public safety demon hunter outfit, complete with his well-known large coat. The difference today was that Kishibe had on leather driving gloves. Hiro found it strange that he was wearing gloves; he had never seen him wear them before and wondered why he chose today of all days to do so. Perhaps he was just feeling cold.

Regardless, that wasn't important. What was important was that today they were going to visit the Demon Research Center and Devil Hunter Training Facility. Aaaah, it was too epic.

He had been anticipating this day for three years, but ironically, he had also been avoiding it as he still harbored some fear of devils deep down. However, he believed that he could overcome that fear if he set his mind to it. If Kishibe and Quanxi could do it, then so could he. At least, that's what he hoped.

Deep down, Hiro still felt a bit groggy as Kishibe had woken him up at 7 in the morning just to go to this place. Adding to that, the argument they had the night before occurred at 11 PM, a time when he should have been asleep. But Hiro glanced at Kishibe, and the man seemed unaffected by the lack of sleep; he appeared to be accustomed to it. That was one of the many skills he would likely learn in his training.

This was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Exhilarating because he was sure to encounter interesting things during the training, and terrifying because the future that awaited him was still very uncertain. However, he hoped at least to live to save a human life from those ugly devils. God willing. Although he had noticed that the Christian religion hadn't been of much help lately. He thought about it because there were hundreds of devils in the world, and no angels in sight. Maybe if there were a God, He wouldn't let this happen...

But that was a topic for another occasion when he got lost in his thoughts. After several minutes, Hiro could finally see from the car window a massive building that stretched along the street, about 50 meters wide in his estimation, and he guessed it was around 30 meters tall, but he wasn't sure.

"Is that the research center?" Hiro asked the solemn driver, looking at the enormous building with curious and awestruck eyes. With all the polarized windows, it resembled a giant mirror.

Kishibe continued to watch the street as he replied to the boy, "Yes, that's the place. And if you're wondering why it's larger on the sides unlike other buildings that are taller, it's because they also house devils here, so special places are needed to contain and study them. Add to that, this is where the training grounds for hunters are located. Of course, it's optional to train here; there are other places in Japan."

Hiro stopped looking out the window and turned to Kishibe with a tilt of his head. "And will I come to train here?"

Kishibe glanced at Hiro for just a second, and then his eyes returned to the road. "We'll see"

"Can you tell me more about this place?"

"There's not much more to say. The only thing that might interest you is that the building extends below us as well. As you can imagine, it's also used to house devils. In this case, high-ranking devils."