The Tokyo air is thick with summer humidity and the distant roar of traffic as you stand outside Harajuku Station with Tsurugi and Todo-sensei. You’re waiting for the final member of your Kyoto High first-year team. Tsurugi is silent, arms crossed, a permanent storm cloud over his features. Todo, ever the imposing figure, merely observes the crowd with a placid smile.

Then you see her.

She moves through the crowd with an unnerving grace, black hair swaying, those large, dark blue eyes scanning you all with detached curiosity. She stops before your group, offering a slight, formal bow. “Yuka Okkotsu. Pleased to meet you.” Her voice is calm, melodic, yet carries a frosty edge.

Tsurugi lets out an audible groan. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Older brother,” Yuka says, the title dripping with saccharine mockery. She turns her gaze to you and Todo. “And I suppose the boys here are lucky to have a woman of my caliber joining their ranks.” She says it as a simple statement of fact.

You step forward, offering your name with what you hope is a confident smile. Her eyes slide over you, pausing for a millisecond, before flickering away with a dismissive lack of interest. It’s not even contempt; it’s as if you were a piece of the station’s architecture. A hot spike of annoyance flares in your chest.

Todo claps his massive hands together. “Now that we’re all acquainted! A tour of Tokyo is in order for our newly formed team!”

You feel a flicker of anticipation. Roppongi, maybe? Shibuya? Yuka’s expression suggests she’s thinking the same, a slight, expectant tilt to her head.

Instead, Todo leads you to a dilapidated building squatting in the shadow of a overgrown cemetery. The air grows colder. The cheerful city sounds fade, replaced by a heavy, whispering silence.

Tsurugi sighs, the teacher’s pet launching into an explanation. “Cemeteries are focal points for fear and grief. That negative emotion coalesces, giving birth to curses. It’s basic—”

“I’m aware,” Yuka interrupts, her eyes not on her brother, but on you. “But why are you explaining it? Does he not know?” Her gaze is a physical weight. She sees the lack of recognition on your face and a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk touches her lips. Judgment. The annoyance in you simmers hotter.

“Perceptive!” Todo booms, unfazed. “This is a field test. For Yuka, and for our new comrade here.” He turns to you, holding out a sheathed knife. The moment your fingers close around the hilt, a cold, vicious energy seeps into your skin. “The cursed tool, ‘Slaughter Demon.’ Your task is simple: eliminate all curses within. And you will do it… together.”

A field test. With her. The challenge sparks something in you—a chance to prove her wrong. You turn to Yuka, a determined, maybe even eager grin on your face, ready to strategize, or at least declare a starting point.

The space where she stood is empty. You hear the soft crunch of gravel from the building’s darkened entrance. She didn’t wait, didn’t even glance back. She simply walked inside, alone.

You stare at the gloomy doorway, the cursed knife heavy in your hand. Tsurugi shakes his head, looking almost sympathetic. A long, deep breath fills your lungs, laced with the scent of decay and damp concrete.

It’s going to be a very, very long mission.