The harsh hum of the armored transport was the only sound as the vehicle moved toward the target zone. Inside, Takeru sat against the cold metal wall, his eyes staring out the window, watching the blur of trees and empty roads pass by. He was still processing the tension from the previous days, the questions, the whispers, the strange feeling that had yet to leave him.
Kaneki was leaning against the opposite wall, his arms crossed, his usual nonchalance covering the unease both of them were trying to suppress. They were about to face their first real test as a team, and the weight of that responsibility hung in the air like a fog.
Takeru glanced over at him, noting the familiar smirk tugging at Kaneki's lips.
"Don't look so serious" Kaneki said, his tone light despite the tension. "We've trained for this. It's just a field test, right? Nothing we haven't seen before."
Takeru gave a small, dry chuckle. "Yeah, just a few monsters and a mission to get our licenses." He shook his head. "Sound easy enough."
Kaneki raised an eyebrow. "Easy, huh? I thought you were the one telling me not to underestimate this kind of stuff."
"I'm not" Takeru replied, his gaze sharpening. "I just... I can't shake the feeling that there's something bigger going on. The mission, the monsters... and the whisper." He paused, his thoughts trailing off.
"Ah, that whisper" Kaneki said with a knowing grin. "Still hearing that, huh?"
Takeru didn't respond immediately. He had told Kaneki about the voices, but only in passing. The strange feeling that he wasn't entirely alone, that something unseen was watching, guiding. That eerie whisper in the dark had only intensified since their last mission. He'd never heard it so clearly before. But he didn't want to get into it now. Not when they were about to head into the field.
Instead, he just nodded. "Let's focus on the mission. We'll talk later."
Kaneki's grin faded into a more serious expression as he studied Takeru's face. "Yeah, you're right. We get through this, and we'll have our licenses. Then we can talk."
The transport jolted, pulling them both from their thoughts. Outside, the landscape was becoming more rugged, the roads twisting through dense forests. They were getting close.
Shun Hirata, the squad leader of squad 4, was sitting silently on the other side of the vehicle, fiddling with his gear. He wasn't much for small talk and Takeru didn't mind that. They didn't need to be friends to work together, they just needed to survive. Besides, his quiet focus was a reminder that this mission wasn't a game.
The vehicle slowed to a stop. The sound of the engine died down as the doors opened with a hiss, and the team stepped out into the clearing. The air was thick with humidity, the sky clouded over with the promise of rain. Takeru felt the familiar tension settling in his chest.
"Move out" Shun instructed, his voice sharp, though not unkind. He took the lead, stepping forward with a confident pace, his eyes scanning the perimeter for any signs of movement.
Takeru and Kaneki followed closely behind, their senses heightened. This was real now. No more drills. No more training exercises. This was a fight for their lives.
"Stay sharp" Shun murmured, his voice low. "Monsters could be anywhere."
Takeru nodded, his mind racing. He could hear the distant sound of leaves rustling, the occasional snap of twigs breaking underfoot. But there was something else. That whisper. The one that had been with him since the beginning. It was faint, like the brush of wind against his ear.
"You're not alone." the voice seemed to whisper. "Atleast for now..."
Takeru shook his head, pushing the thought aside and keep focus on the mission.
They continued deeper into the forest, the foliage growing denser as the trees closed in around them. Every rustle, every shadow seemed to hold danger. And then, in the distance, he saw it.
A shape. Not huge, but still dangerous. Moving through the trees with swift, jerky motions.
"Contact!" Shun shouted, drawing his weapon as he took cover behind a large tree. "Multiple targets. C-Rated."
Takeru's heart skipped a beat. C-Rated monsters, manageable, but still dangerous. This was no longer a training exercise. This was the real deal.
"Kaneki, take left! I'll go right!" Takeru shouted, instinctively splitting off from his teammate.
Kaneki gave a short nod, his smirk never fading, even as the weight of the situation hit. They worked like they'd trained, precise, quick, and deadly. But this wasn't training. This wasn't the academy. This was real.
The monsters emerged from the shadows, twisted, grotesque shapes, their eyes glowing with malice. One of them, a C-Rated beast with long claws, lunged toward Takeru. He ducked, rolling to the side, and came up with his reinforced short sword, slashing at its exposed underbelly.
"Not today" Takeru muttered, his heart pounding as the creature howled in pain and staggered back.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Kaneki in a fluid blur, his movements sharp and calculated as he disarmed one of the C-Rated monsters, then delivered a devastating blow to its head.
"Good work" Takeru called out as he took down another creature, his sword sinking deep into its neck.
But then, something caught his attention. A flicker in the trees. He turned, his eyes scanning the forest, but there was nothing. Just shadows and moving leaves.
"Focus, Hoshino!" Shun yelled, pulling him back into the fight.
"Right" Takeru replied, shaking off the unease. The monsters were falling fast. They'd clear this zone. They'd survive.
The forest pressed in on them from all sides. Trees twisted toward the sky like skeletal arms, and the late afternoon sun barely pierced the dense canopy above. Squad 4 moved cautiously, boots crunching on the damp earth. The air smelled of moss, rot, and something faintly metallic.
Takeru led the way, his senses dialed up to maximum. Behind him, Kaneki kept low, sweeping the surroundings with his eyes. Shun brought up the rear, quiet and composed. Despite the tension, it was clear who the center of gravity was between them. Takeru moved with purpose, and Kaneki followed his rhythm with an ease born from familiarity.
Their objective was a decrepit research site deeper in the forest, one of several scattered across the area. Intel said C-Rated monsters had been nesting inside. Possibly B-Rated, but nothing confirmed.
The moment they passed the rusted gates of the compound, a low growl greeted them.
"Contact" Takeru whispered.
A monstrous shape darted from the shadows, long limbs, gangly form, jagged teeth shining in the gloom. C-Rated, just like the training simulations, but faster than expected. Takeru stepped into its path without hesitation, blade unsheathed in a single fluid motion. Steel met flesh. The creature shrieked and collapsed, vanishing into particles.
They pushed deeper into the facility. Debris littered the floors, old papers, broken lab equipment, shattered monitors still displaying static. Every creak of metal and flicker of shadow put them on edge.
A sudden shriek split the silence. Shun's voice came through comms. "Multiple hostiles on my side. Flanking."
Takeru turned to Kaneki. "Let's move."
They found Shun pinned down near a broken stairwell, holding off three monsters with measured strikes. Kaneki flanked left, leaping over scattered rubble. Takeru surged forward, blade flashing.
It was over in seconds.
"Thanks" Shun said, brushing dust off his arm. He gave Takeru a nod, but the focus stayed between Takeru and Kaneki.
Kaneki clapped his hands together. "Alright, this place is officially haunted and crawling with toothy nightmares. Can we grab the intel and bail?"
Takeru glanced toward the data servers ahead, locked behind cracked glass.
"We're close."
They approached the server room carefully, with Kaneki staying loose but alert. Inside, Takeru worked quickly to extract the necessary files. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, something wasn't right. The system still had power.
"I think someone's been here recently," he said, narrowing his eyes at the timestamp logs. "These systems were accessed less than a week ago."
"Who could it be?" Kaneki asked.
Takeru didn't answer. He copied the data onto the secure drive and stood. "Let's finish the mission."
Suddenly, the power flickered. The ground trembled beneath their feet. A deep, inhuman growl echoed through the hallways.
Shun tensed. "That's not C-Rated."
"No" Takeru said, jaw tightening. "That's our first B-Rated."
Lights snapped off completely. The emergency red glow bathed the room in a warning hue.
Kaneki slowly unsheathed his blade in his hand. "Here we go."
The creature burst through a collapsed wall, 2 meters tall, covered in sinewy muscle and armored plating. Its eyes burned orange in the dark.
The three split instinctively.
Kaneki darted right, drawing its attention with rapid slashes. Shun moved to intercept from the flank. But it was Takeru who struck true, vaulting over shattered equipment and driving his blade into the monster's side.
It screamed in fury, lashing out with one arm and catching Takeru midair.
He hit the ground hard, breath knocked from his lungs.
"Takeru!" Kaneki yelled.
Takeru rolled, dodging a follow-up strike, and barely regained his footing.
"Now do it!" he shouted.
Kaneki moved in a blur, delivering a quick combination that forced the beast off balance. Shun pierced its exposed joint, slowing it down. Takeru, now back on his feet, finished it with a precise thrust into its skull.
The monster exploded into particles.
The red light dimmed.
Silence returned.
The three of them stood there, panting, bruised, but alive.
Takeru clutched the data drive tightly. "We're done here."
By the time they returned to the designated extraction point, other teams had begun to arrive as well. Some limping, others bloodied, but all showing the marks of a real mission.
Squad 2 carried one of their teammates on a stretcher.
Squad 5 was missing a member.
Captain Hino stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed. His eyes scanned each returning group with a cold efficiency.
When Squad 4 approached, he gave them a brief nod. "Data?"
Takeru handed over the drive. "Recovered. And the B-Rated threat inside neutralized."
Hino's eyes flicked between the three of them. "Noted."
As the trucks arrived to take them back to the Academy, the atmosphere among the trainees was quieter than before. Not due to exhaustion but the weight of what they'd seen, what they'd survived.
They had faced death.
And earned their place.
Back at the academy, after thorough decontamination and a long debrief, the trainees were gathered in the main assembly hall. Lights dimmed. A large screen flickered to life.
Kurose's voice filled the room. "You've completed your Rank 3 Qualification Mission."
A moment of stillness.
"Congratulations."
Murmurs and tired applause broke the silence. But for Takeru, it didn't feel like a celebration. It felt like the end of something and the beginning of something much bigger.
As he stepped outside, Kaneki joined him, still brushing dust from his uniform.
"Well" Kaneki said with a grin. "Guess we're official now."
Takeru didn't smile, but nodded. "For now."
The sky was darker than usual, clouds casting long shadows across the Academy. And faintly, like a distant chime in the wind.
Takeru heard it again.
The whisper.
Only this time, it wasn't just calling.
It was guiding.
Later that evening…
The dim glow of sunset faded quickly, leaving the academy bathed in twilight. Deep in the corridors of the administrative building, far from the reach of students, a familiar presence lingered in the shadows.
Ichikami stood, his long white coat gently fluttering in the breeze, as his sharp blue eyes scanned the landscape outside the window. A storm of thoughts brewed behind his calm demeanor. Beside him, Lena stood in complete silence, her blood crimson eyes piercing through the darkening sky.
"You watched them didn't you" Ichikami finally said, his voice cool as always. "Your eyes were on Takeru Hoshino this whole time. Why?"
Lena's gaze didn't leave the distant horizon. Her voice, soft as the night wind, answered almost casually, "Because he's different. You should know that."
Ichikami didn't turn, but there was an unmistakable shift in his posture, a faint tightening in his jaw. "You think he's ready? I don't think he's ready yet."
Lena let out a soft laugh, her gaze briefly flickering toward him. "He's closer than you think. But no... he's not ready." She paused, letting the weight of her words hang in the air. "The path before him is tangled, and he may not realize it yet. He'll struggle. He'll fight against it whatever it is that's been calling him."
Ichikami studied her for a moment before responding, his voice firm. "In that case, I won't allow him to fail. If it's true that he hears... that voice you talking about, then we cannot let it break him."
Lena stepped closer, her expression unreadable but intense. "Now tell me what will you do? You've seen the signs, haven't you? He's marked. Chosen, perhaps, but not in a way we can predict."
Ichikami turned to face her, his piercing blue eyes meeting her gaze directly. "I'll make sure he survives. I'll make sure he doesn't fall into whatever trap awaits him."
Lena's lips curved into a slow smile, a knowing, almost mischievous glint in her eyes. "You underestimate his potential." She tilted her head, a quiet laugh escaping her. "Hoshino isn't just another your average investigator. He has a role to play in the story that's unfolding. It's not something that can be controlled, not by you or anyone else."
Ichikami's expression hardened, his voice a low whisper. "I know that. But I'll be there to guide him. To keep him from breaking."
Lena's eyes flickered with something deeper, something ancient. "We all have our roles to play, including you. But be careful with that control. Some things cannot be tamed. Not completely."
Ichikami's gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, but he didn't reply.
The air between them thickened, filled with unspoken thoughts and ancient knowledge that hung like a shroud over the academy. Lena turned toward the door, her figure almost ethereal in the dim light.
"When it speaks again" she murmured softly, her words carrying a weight that seemed to linger in the room long after she had spoken, "he won't be able to ignore it."
And with that, Lena walked away, her footsteps echoing in the stillness.
Ichikami stood there for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing as he gazed out into the twilight. His mind raced, pieces of a puzzle he could barely see clicking together.
Takeru Hoshino had been chosen. There was no doubt about that.
But the question remained: Chosen for what?