The neon glow of Shibuya's scramble crossing blurred into streaks of red and blue as Nakato sprinted behind Hinako, his new combat boots pounding against wet pavement. Rain lashed at his face, mixing with the sweat dripping down his temples.
"Keep up, newbie!" Hinako barked over her shoulder, her crimson hair whipping in the wind. "Beasts don't wait for stragglers!"
Daisuke's voice crackled through their earpieces: *"Thermal scans show the nest is beneath the abandoned subway station—three levels down. And guys? There's at least twelve heat signatures."*
Nakato's stomach twisted. *Twelve.* He'd barely survived *one.* The Kage Corps jacket felt heavy on his shoulders, the embroidered emblem—a sword wreathed in black flames—itching against his back.
Ryujin's words echoed in his mind: *"Your Style isn't just fire. It's* annihilation*."*
The entrance to the old station loomed ahead, its broken escalators leading into darkness. A rusted "DANGER" sign swung creakily in the storm.
Hinako didn't hesitate. She vaulted over the turnstile, her twin daggers already drawn. "Stay behind me until your flames spark. Then—"
A bone-rattling *screech* cut her off.
From the shadows, *it* emerged—a Beast twice the size of the alleyway one, its elongated body covered in chitinous plates. Six milky eyes locked onto Nakato.
*"Shadowborn,"* it hissed, voice like grinding glass. *"The Eclipse hungers for your kind."*
Hinako moved like lightning. Her blades flashed silver, carving deep gashes across the Beast's chest. Black ichor sprayed—but the creature barely flinched. A spiked tail whipped out, slamming her into a concrete pillar.
"Hinako!" Nakato lunged forward—
The Beast backhanded him midair. White-hot pain exploded through his ribs as he crashed into a ticket booth. His vision swam. Somewhere distant, Daisuke was shouting through the comms.
*"Nakato! Your vitals are spiking—your Style's activating!"*
The Beast loomed over him, drool sizzling where it hit the floor. *"Your flames will make fine tribute."*
Then—
**Heat.**
It erupted from Nakato's core, *burning* through every vein. His scream turned guttural as black fire *surged* from his palms—not the wild sparks from the alley, but controlled *blades* of living flame.
The Beast shrieked as the fire sliced clean through its armored forearm.
Hinako staggered up, wiping blood from her lip. "About damn time." She tossed him a dagger. "Now *focus.* Imagine the fire's an extension of your body."
Nakato gripped the hilt. The flames coiled around the blade, turning it into a searing brand. The Beast circled them, its remaining eyes narrowing.
*"You fight against inevitability,"* it rasped. *"The Eclipse comes for all."*
Then it *pounced.*
Nakato *moved.* His fire-wreathed dagger met chitin in a shower of sparks. Heat radiated through his arms as he *pushed,* the flames eating through the Beast's plating like acid. Hinako darted in from the side, her blades finding the gaps.
With a final roar, Nakato *shoved* the dagger deep into the Beast's central eye. Black fire *erupted* from within, reducing the creature to ash in seconds.
Silence.
Then Daisuke's awed whisper in their earpieces: *"That... was* insane*."*
Hinako grinned, offering Nakato a hand up. "Not bad for your first hunt."
Nakato stared at his palms—the flames now dancing obediently across his fingers. His heart pounded, but not just from fear.
*Power.*
Ryujin's voice suddenly crackled through the comms, urgent: *"Fall back. Now. We've got bigger problems—the Eclipse Cult just hit Shinjuku."*
Hinako's smile vanished.
And Nakato realized—the real war was only beginning.