Whispers filled the hallway.
"Hiro… defeated Kazuki?"
"No way… Kazuki's one of the strongest!"
"He didn't even lay a finger on him…"
At the center of it all, Hiro walked in silence. Students parted as he passed, their eyes filled with a mix of awe… and fear.
Satou caught up to him, panting. "Hey, bro! You seriously took Kazuki down with that new power?! That was insane!"
Hiro didn't reply. His eyes stared ahead, cold and distant.
Akira trailed behind them, deep in thought. "That stance… that power… it looked just like the masked enemy."
"Do you think it's related?" Satou asked.
"I don't think. I know," Akira replied.
[Somewhere in a dark room...]
A projector flickered on.
Footage of Hiro's fight played on screen.
"Hiro…" a voice muttered, laced with curiosity and threat.
Students in different uniforms—representatives from elite schools—sat around a long table.
A girl with silver hair smirked. "He just awakened… but his potential is off the charts."
A tall boy slammed his fist on the table. "We can't ignore this. If we let him grow—he'll surpass us all!"
"Should we eliminate him now?" another voice asked.
"No," said a calm, emotionless voice. "Let him struggle. Let him taste victory… then crush him."
[Back at school...]
Hiro stood alone on the rooftop, staring at his hand.
"That stance... it came naturally to me. But why? Who… am I really?"
A breeze passed by, rustling his hair.
Hanako appeared behind him, quiet.
"You're changing," she said.
Hiro looked over his shoulder. "Am I?"
She nodded. "Your eyes. They're different now."
Hiro didn't answer.
"I've done some digging," Hanako continued. "Your records… there's a gap. A missing file from when you were ten."
"A missing… file?"
"You might not be who you think you are."
[That Night...]
In a hidden alley, a figure in a cloak knelt before someone.
"The boy has awakened," the cloaked one said.
From the shadows, a deep voice echoed, "Then the real game begins."
To be continued...