*Saturday, 10 a.m.*
Kaiser ran a hand through his ssy hair and left his house. His phone buzzed again in his pocket. When he woke up, he'd received a ssage from Yuki, asking him to et at the HQ.
He sighed and headed to Hannah's house to borrow her bike. He knocked on the door, expecting to see his friend, but it was her mother who opened it.
"Good morning, Mrs. Brooks."
The woman offered him a warm smile upon recognizing him.
"Oh, it's you, Kaiser. Co on in."
"Thanks. Uh... is Hannah here?"
"Yes, wait, I'll call her."
She turned her head and called out to her daughter. A few seconds later, Hannah appeared, still in slippers, her hair a bit ssy. She squinted at him, clearly not fully awake yet.
They decided to go out for so fresh air. Walking side by side, Hannah eventually broke the silence.
"I've been thinking a lot about... you know, those creatures."
Kaiser raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
"And I've co to a conclusion. Tomorrow, I'm going to church."
He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her as if she'd just said the most absurd thing in the world.
"Why that crazy idea?"
Hannah crossed her arms and took a deep breath.
"Jane's always encouraged to go, but now that these things exist... why wouldn't gods exist too?"
Kaiser frowned.
"Not wrong, but that would an demons exist too. My mom was religious... and she died before she was thirty. You know what I think about higher beings."
Hannah gave a slightly nervous smile.
"It doesn't hurt to try."
Kaiser rolled his eyes and let out a small mocking laugh.
"Tss, that two out of ten always puts stupid ideas in your head."
Hannah bumped him lightly with her shoulder.
"Hey, don't talk about my bestie like that!"
Kaiser raised an amused eyebrow before returning to the main topic.
"So, can I borrow your bike?"
She nodded and let him take it.
He pedaled to the HQ, crossing the still-quiet streets at that hour. When he arrived, Carter and Hugo were already there, deep in conversation.
"Ben might not co," Carter said, shaking his head. "He crashed last night. That guy burned the candle at both ends."
Hugo burst out laughing.
"No kidding! He must've been in survival mode."
Kaiser leaned his bike against a tree and approached them. He was about to ask for details when the door suddenly swung open.
Yuki entered with a grave expression and a thick book under his arm. His appearance was more serious than usual, and Kaiser imdiately felt sothing was off.
"Hassan's still dealing with family issues," Yuki announced, placing the book on the table. "We'll fill him in later, but for now... where's Ben?"
Kaiser shrugged.
"Probably recharging."
Carter stared at him for a mont, then turned to Yuki.
"You're raising the tension all at once. It's like you're about to drop so huge news."
Yuki slowly nodded.
"That's the case."
Hugo gestured to the book with a tilt of his chin.
"And what's this thing?"
Without answering imdiately, Yuki opened the volu. Inside, yellowed pages were filled with diagrams and text written in Japanese and English.
"It's a Wonders glossary."
Hugo shivered.
"What?"
"Co see."
Everyone leaned in to examine the detailed illustrations.
"This book describes nurous supernatural creatures called Wonders. Their appearance when they're in Jagd that is, transford their behavior in society, their weaknesses... and how to kill them."
He turned a page and pointed to an illustration of a creature that was half-man, half-lion.
"This is a Lowen. Pretty solitary and arrogant, but physically formidable. A mix between a human and a lion when in Jagd. Don't confuse it with Leo Zodiacs... if they still exist."
He continued flipping through the pages, his tone growing more serious.
"In 1267, one of my ancestors encountered a more evolved variant: the Manticore."
Kaiser clenched his teeth at the image of a terrifying beast.
"And that's what we saw that night. Werewolves."
Carter narrowed his eyes.
"They hunt in packs under the full moon, with a hierarchy of betas and alphas..."
He abruptly stopped and stared at Yuki.
"Wait a second. How do you know all this? And where did you get this book?"
Yuki took a deep breath.
"Because I'm one of the few remaining Zodiacs."
Silence fell over the room.
Carter stiffened instantly, his face turning pale.
"Oh, shit... Are you going to kill us?"
He took a step back, as if ready to flee.
Yuki raised a hand to calm him.
"No. I'm not one of those creatures. I'm the one who hunts them. My family has been tracking them for centuries."
Hugo opened and closed his mouth several tis before whispering:
"Wow... Shit... I... I think I'm gonna leave. This is too much for ..."
But before he could move, Kaiser turned abruptly, his expression unreadable.
Yuki placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Kaiser violently shoved him away.
"Get off ."
Carter frowned.
"What's your problem? We're all freaking out here!"
Kaiser brushed Yuki's hand aside and headed for the door.
"I'm leaving. I don't talk to hypocritical assholes."
He slamd the door open, but Yuki caught up to him.
"Kaiser, wait, this is hard to take in, but—"
A fist flew.
Kaiser landed a right hook squarely on Yuki's jaw.
Carter rushed between them.
"Hey! Let's calm down!"
But Kaiser wasn't listening.
"You knew."
Yuki wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, surprised by his friend's aggression.
"You knew!"
He stepped closer, his eyes burning with rage.
"You were the first to call a junkie when I talked about my hallucinations. When I almost died of an overdose trying to forget those nightmares!"
Carter froze.
"I thought I was going crazy. A burden to my uncle. A druggie incapable of repaying them for what they've done for ." His voice broke. "I had nightmares, insomnia for weeks. And you, you laughed at my dark circles, right?"
Silence.
"Can you imagine what it's like, thinking you're a freak? Doubting every sound, every shadow?" He clenched his fists. "I tried to kill myself four tis."
Yuki tried to plead: "I wanted to protect you..."
"PROTECT?" Kaiser burst into a bitter laugh. "You take for your bitch? Motherfucker !"
Yuki stiffened. "Don't insult my mother."
Carter held him back. "Kaiser, you've got the right to be pissed, but no talking about his dead mom."
"I don't give a shit. Mine had her throat slit." He pushed Carter aside, jumped on his bike, and disappeared into the woods.
A heavy silence fell.
Hugo sighed and headed for the door.
"I understand Kaiser... It was hypocritical, Yuki. I'm leaving too."
Carter and Yuki were left alone.
"What are we gonna do?"
"Let them process. Tomorrow, they might be more receptive."
Carter nodded skeptically. "Yeah... In the anti, you keep going with this Manticore stuff, huh?"
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