Nakato Mazui kicked a pebble across the cracked school courtyard, his graduation certificate crumpled in his back pocket. The spring cherry blossoms drifted down like pink snow, sticking to his uncombed black hair as he watched his classmates celebrate with their families.
"Hey, Mazui!" shouted Tanaka from across the yard, his arm slung around his girlfriend. "Come drinking with us!"
Nakato flashed his trademark smirk. "And listen to you brag about finally passing math? Hard pass."
Laughter erupted from the group. They were used to Nakato's sharp tongue by now. As the crowd dispersed into the neon-lit Tokyo night, Nakato's smile faded. His fingers brushed against the worn note in his pocket - the last thing his parents left before vanishing twelve years ago:
*"When your blood burns, run."*
He never understood what it meant.
The shortcut home took him through the abandoned shopping district, where shattered store windows reflected the moonlight like jagged teeth. Nakato's sneakers scuffed against broken concrete as he passed the hollow shell of what was once a bustling arcade. This area had been evacuated after a Beast attack years ago, left to rot like so many parts of the city.
A cold shiver crawled up his spine.
The air smelled wrong - like copper and rotting meat. Nakato slowed his steps, ears straining. There it was again - a wet, guttural breathing coming from the alley ahead.
"Probably just a stray dog," he muttered, but his hand tightened around his house keys between his knuckles.
The streetlight flickered.
In the flashing light, Nakato saw it - a hunched figure with elongated limbs, its spine protruding like jagged mountains under gray skin. The creature's head rotated 180 degrees with a sickening crack, revealing glowing crimson eyes and a mouth that split open vertically like a grotesque flower blooming.
Nakato's blood turned to ice.
A real, live Beast.
The creature shrieked, a sound that vibrated in Nakato's teeth, before launching itself at him with terrifying speed. He barely dodged, feeling the whoosh of air as claws raked through where his head had been.
"Fuck!"
Nakato turned and sprinted, his heart hammering against his ribs. The Beast gave chase, its unnatural limbs scuttling across walls and pavement with equal ease. He ducked under a collapsed storefront gate, feeling the sharp tug as claws ripped through the back of his uniform jacket.
Skidding around a corner, Nakato's stomach dropped - dead end. A chain-link fence loomed before him.
The Beast crawled along the brick wall like a nightmare spider, its jaw unhinging as thick drool splattered on the concrete. Nakato's hands scrambled for anything to use as a weapon, closing around a rusted pipe.
"Come on, you ugly bastard!" he spat, swinging with all his strength.
The pipe shattered against the Beast's skull like glass.
The creature didn't even flinch.
A massive clawed hand slammed into Nakato's chest, sending him crashing into the fence. Pain exploded through his ribs as he tasted blood. The Beast loomed over him, raising one taloned hand for the killing blow.
*This is it*, Nakato thought bitterly. *I'm going to die in some filthy alley, just like my parents.*
Then - fire.
A searing heat erupted from his core, burning through his veins like molten metal. His vision tinted red as the pain transformed into unbearable heat. The Beast recoiled as black flames - darker than the deepest night - burst from Nakato's wounds, licking hungrily at the air.
"What the hell?" Nakato gasped, staring at his hands as the unnatural fire danced across his skin without burning him.
The Beast shrieked and attacked again.
Acting on instinct, Nakato thrust out his palms. The black flames roared forward in a concentrated blast, engulfing the creature's upper body. The stench of burning flesh filled the alley as the Beast staggered back, its face melting like wax.
Before Nakato could process what he'd done, a shadow dropped from the rooftops. A massive cleaver sword flashed silver in the dim light, slicing clean through the Beast's neck. The decapitated body collapsed, dissolving into black smoke before it hit the ground.
Standing over the remains was a tall man in a tattered gray coat, silver hair tied back in a messy ponytail. He chewed lazily on a toothpick as he examined Nakato with piercing golden eyes.
"Not bad for your first time," the man said, hefting his massive sword onto his shoulder. "Name's Ryujin. Professional Beast hunter." He nodded at Nakato's still-smoldering hands. "And you? You're what we call a Shadowborn."
Nakato's flames sputtered out as exhaustion hit him like a truck. His vision swam.
"Half-human, half-monster," Ryujin continued, catching Nakato as he collapsed. "Though you..." He sniffed the air. "You smell different. Special."
As darkness crept into Nakato's vision, he glimpsed dozens of glowing red eyes watching from the surrounding buildings.
And they were all hungry.