A few minutes later…
A lanky, dark-skinned man in a loose black suit sat in a cluttered apartment, staring blankly at a dim television. Braided hair draped over half his face, and the dotted X stitched into his tie pulsed faintly. His eyes—tired, restless, half-crazed—suddenly widened.
Stone Strickland shot to his feet like he'd seen a ghost.
"Kingston," he snapped. "Yo. We're attacking the Hunter Association?"
Across the room, a shorter man with a small afro lifted his head. The dotted X across the back of his jacket flared softly.
"…What are you talking about?" Kingston frowned. "Have you finally lost it?"
Stone jabbed a finger at the screen.
SCISSORS ATTACK THE HUNTER ASSOCIATION
Kingston blinked. Once. Twice."No way. Did Enma and those idiots really try something that stupid?"
Stone shook his head slowly."We've been framed."
Kingston's mouth fell open."So the Hunter Association thinks we did this."A beat."And now they're coming for us."
Stone rolled his shoulders and straightened his jacket."Looks like it."
Kingston exhaled."So… we get ready to fight?"
Stone turned to him, eyes dead serious."Kingston, let's go. We've been quiet too long."
Kingston paused."…We're really fighting the entire Hunter Association?"
Stone didn't miss a beat."No. We're going to write a very strongly worded letter."
Kingston nodded just as seriously."Yeah. That'll scare 'em."
Meanwhile, Akira lay sprawled across his hotel bed, staring at the ceiling. He tossed a pillow upward, catching it lazily as boredom settled in.
Knock. Knock.
He opened the door to find Sora and Gaku standing there in matching Hunter uniforms.
"Akira," Sora said sharply. "Get ready."
Akira shrugged, pinning the Yoru Kingdom emblem to his chest as he stepped out."Yeah, yeah. Where we going?"
Gaku just stared at him.
Sora sighed."Do you seriously not know? Scissors attacked Hunter Association HQ. All active Hunters have been deployed."
Akira blinked."…Alright. Let's go."
Far across the city—
The pink-haired boy limped off his manta ray as it settled beside an abandoned warehouse. He clutched his side, breath ragged, barely making it to the shadowed figure waiting inside.
Kenji Sato.
The boy collapsed to his knees."I—I'm sorry," he gasped. "I failed—"
"Yes," Kenji said calmly. "Thank you for the apology."
Then his tone shifted.
"But you and the others will die."
The boy froze.
"…What?"
Kenji sighed, like a teacher explaining something painfully obvious."I told you the mark only ages you based on how much power you use. But really—did you think the world of Taoists would ever be that kind?"
He raised his hand. The glowing symbol carved into his skin pulsed softly.
"The moment you activated that mark, you had one year left to live."A pause."Honestly, I didn't expect you to last this long."
Fear shattered into rage. The boy screamed and swung—
Kenji dodged him quick and easily. "Wow, don't be so angry, you're lucky you didn't die."
"You didn't even finish your job," Kenji said, disappointed. He lifted the boy with one hand like discarded luggage."Kids these days. So ungrateful."
He dropped him to the concrete.
Kenji looked down at him one last time."Did you really think I'd let anyone trace the creation of false Scissors back to me?"
The boy coughed, forcing himself up."What about the ones who aren't marked?" he rasped.
Kenji smiled faintly."They're facing the strongest organization in the world."
He turned away.
"I don't need to do anything."