Sousei no Onmyouji: Reborn.

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Sousei no Onmyōuji (Twin Star Exorcist), all rights belong to the goat Sukeno, not every I write is cannon and true to the original.

Narukami—Seika Dormitory

As evening settled over Narukami, Ayato stood before a modest two-story building, a ground floor and top floor, surrounded by bamboo fences.

Though modest, it had ample space, especially in the backyard, where a small pond and various decorations added to its charm.

"Oh~ You're finally here. Welcome."

Sliding open a wooden slat door, a tall young man with short, spiky black hair and a braid in front of his right ear greeted him.

Ryogo smiled warmly, welcoming Ayato before looking him over.

The boy, who was about his foster brother's age and height, looked filthy, covered in dust and grime.

"This…"

"Kamika Ayato. Nice to meet you."

Ayato muttered absentmindedly, his gaze shifting toward Ryogo, who gave a wry smile.

As though he wanted to ask where Ayato had been to end up looking so battered.

But soon, Ryogo's eyes trailed to the weapon case strapped to Ayato's back.

And at that moment—an expression of understanding crossed his face.

"I see. You're coming back from Magano, aren't you? Your things were delivered this afternoon."

Ayato had left his house in the morning at around the time of 10:00 AM, it seemed.

It had taken about an hour to reach the branch association.

From there, he had spoken with an acquaintance, then—midway through his discussions—they had received a distress message from Magano.

He fought and won against an Impurity of the Ja-rank.

Now, he was exhausted.

"But before that, how about—"

"GAHHH! WHY IS SHE HERE?!"

Before Ryogo could finish his sentence, a loud yell erupted from behind the wooden sliding door leading to the living room.

The man in front of Ayato froze for a moment, but for some reason, he was smiling.

But he recomposed himself again, about to have another round at introducing himself.

"Ahem, why don't you—"

"LOOK HERE!!! DON'T EAT OHAGI WITH SUCH A SATISFIED EXPRESSION!"

However, another lively shout came from the living room again, making Ryogo pause again—this time with a stiff expression.

Meanwhile, Ayato simply blinked, his eyes shifting toward the wooden sliding door. 

He seemed interested; after all, he had just heard a nostalgic voice.

"Uhm, pardon—"

"ARGH! DAMMIT ALL!"

Having exhausted his patience, which was neither infinite like God's nor Buddha's, Ryogo turned on his heel, stormed toward the wooden door, and slid it open.

Unfortunately for the poor soul standing right behind it, they were met with a loud, merciless knock to the head.

"YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ALREADY! YOU'RE DISTURBING THE NEIGHBOURHOOD!"

After screaming that, Ryogo finally calmed down.

As he did, Ayato slowly stepped into view, standing by the wooden doorframe.

The moment he did, the entire room fell silent.

All eyes shifted toward Ryogo, who had just slammed Rokuro into the floor, and then to Ayato, who was slowly stepping into view.

Meanwhile, the poor boy who had been brutally knocked down lay sprawled out on the floor, muttering to himself: 

"It's not my fault…"

Ayato, on the other hand, had slowly entered and begun assessing his surroundings.

To one side, there was a male with lilac-coloured hair, his bangs covering his eyes, and another with brown hair, a red streak running down through it.

Both of them stood behind a chair, where a girl sat, each respectively holding water and tea in hand.

The female, on the other hand, was a beautiful teenager of average height with green eyes.

Her long, hip-length black hair had a set of long bangs framing her forehead.

She was wearing a uniform—the completely black type.

Moving his focus, he then saw an old woman, stout, sitting beside the female.

And finally, his gaze dropped to the ground, where a male slowly, yet groggily, stood up while rubbing his head.

Ayato's expression shifted into surprise, his mouth forming a circle before his lips pressed thinly together.

Then, he slowly lifted his head.

"It's been a long time, Rock."

Those were the first words he had spoken since entering the living room, and they stunned even Ryogo, who blinked as he turned to look at Ayato.

The others, equally confused, also blinked, all thinking the same thing, 'Rock?'

However, Rokuro flinched.

Immediately, he snapped his head backward, his gaze locking onto the familiar figure he hadn't seen in a while.

There was only one person who'd ever called him that. Which, however, was due to the person saying his name was a handful and had thus started calling him that.

A very annoying person.

Having turned around, Rokuro paused, his expression instantly shifting into one of shock.

"Aya…."

He mumbled as the male he had just called by name slowly closed his eyes in nostalgia, his lips curving into a small smile.

"Even after growing up, you still haven't changed your habit of crawling on the ground."

What Rokuro had been expecting was for his damn childhood friend to say something heartwarming.

Instead, what came out of his mouth were foul words, making him grimace.

"Shut up, dammit! And wait—you're still alive?"

"Unfortunately so."

Ayato, who hadn't felt much emotion over the years, let out a sneer, spreading his arms with a scoff.

"Kuh! What's with that smug expression!?"

However, for Rokuro, today was seriously not his day.

At first, he had stormed out in a fit of rage over the usual banter between him and Ryogo.

Okay! No problem. That kind of thing happened on a daily basis.

But then, he would love to be enlightened as to why a girl fell from the sky.

He was familiar with the phrase "money falls from the sky," not "girls falling from the sky," dammit!

Okay, he ignored that, and in an attempt to save her, he dove into the river, only to find out that she could actually swim on her own.

Misfortune.

That was the best way to sum up their meeting.

Not to mention, she was actually an exorcist.

She had dragged his ass into Magano, forcing him to use his "cursed" powers to save her—something he hadn't used in a long time.

Today simply wasn't his day.

And now, to top it all off, Aya. Ayato Kamika. He just had to meet this person today.

"What is a deadweight like you even doing here?"

"Believe it or not, I received a transfer notice to move here."

To Rokuro's words, Ayato simply shrugged off the deadweight part. Since, well—he really was a deadweight back then.

And even now, he could see it.

Among everyone gathered in the room, both Rokuro and the girl sitting on the sofa were just as strong as he was.

No, if he compared Spell Power, they actually had more volume than him.

Yet, something was odd. He could feel their spell power, almost like it was attracting each other.

Like a magnetic pull, yet blocked by some other force. That's how he perceived it.

"Uhm, Rokuro, do you by any chance know him?"

"Tsk. You wouldn't know since he stopped visiting."

Ryogo had asked, prompting Rokuro to click his tongue, as if refusing to admit he knew Ayato.

"Denying me like that is cruel. To think you'd become such a tsundere—I never imagined."

"Who the hell are you calling a tsundere!?"

Rokuro snarled at him, his sharp, light teeth baring at Ayato before his expression softened.

"This person was just someone I knew back then, nothing more."

He had said that, but—

"We took lessons together, lived together—though on short intervals, ate together, played together, and what else—"

"Enough! Enough!"

Rokuro waved his hands frantically at Ayato, who had started counting on one hand all the things they had done together back at Hinatsuki Dorm.

However, his words sparked a huge misunderstanding among everyone present.

Their mouths hung open as they all turned to Rokuro, who was still waving his hands in denial.

"Rokuro… You… you swing that way!?"

Then, Atsushi regained his composure, nodding nervously.

"N-no wonder you were openly expressing hatred toward Benio-chan."

But before the misunderstanding could spread any further, Ayato abruptly cut through the conversation, his expression dead serious.

"Make no mistake—neither of us swing that way. I am a perfectly healthy boy."

"Yes! Yes! Tell them! My dream is to become a superstar and have many girls fawn over me!"

Suddenly, Rokuro declared his dream for all to hear, which only made them deadpan at him. At least Ryogo, Atsushi, and Shinnosuke did.

Meanwhile, Ayato silently muttered

"Wasn't your dream to become the greatest exorcist ever? So… you've given up on that, huh?"

Ayato's easygoing expression faded. His gaze darkened, sharp as a blade, as the air between them grew heavier.

"So, that aspirations and talk of yours were all just talk, huh?"

"Kuh…"

Rokuro winced, feeling the piercing weight and intent of Ayato's stare.