CHAPTER 76: THE TARGET IS A CINNAMON ROLL

Emi Aoyama stared at her phone screen, tracing the edges of the new contact entry with her eyes. "Satori-kun ❤️" glowed back at her, looking both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Her heart pounded frantically against her ribs, each thump a mixture of guilt and thrill.

"I can’t believe I actually did that," she whispered to herself, flopping backward onto her bed. A happy squeal escaped her lips as she kicked her feet in the air.

Squeeee!

The sound echoed in her colorful bedroom—a chaotic explosion of her personality. Posters of the S-Rank Hunter "Apex" dominated one wall, his confident smile and signature white-and-gold armor gleaming under her ceiling lights. Her desk overflowed with fashion sketches, colored pencils, fabric swatches, and at least three half-finished bubble tea cups from different days, the straws bearing the marks of her teeth from hours of contemplative chewing while sketching.

Emi rolled onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows to stare at her phone again. "Should I text him? Is that too forward?" She chewed her lower lip until it turned pink. "Natalia said he was interested, but what if she was just being nice? Or worse, what if she’s testing me somehow?"

Her phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming message from her mother. The simple text read: "Emi-chan, we need you downstairs. Lunch rush starting."

"Coming!" she called out reflexively, even though her mother couldn’t hear her through the floor. Emi jumped to her feet, smoothing down her bright yellow crop top and adjusting her denim shorts that showed off her slender legs. She cast one last longing look at her phone before tucking it into her back pocket, the screen still warm from her anxious handling.

"I’ll figure out what to say to him later," she decided, quickly running a brush through her blue hair, watching as the two antenna-like strands popped right back up. "Something casual but cute. Just friendly enough that it doesn’t seem weird, but interesting enough that he’ll want to respond. Maybe I’ll ask Natalia? No, that would be too obvious..."

The rich, savory smell of pork and garlic greeted Emi as she descended the narrow staircase, followed by the familiar clatter of bowls and the sizzle from the kitchen. The Aoyama Ramen Shop had been a fixture in the Asahi District for two generations, started by her grandparents and now run by her parents—a comforting constant in a world that had been transformed by the Rupture.

"Sorry I’m late, Mom!" Emi called, grabbing a light blue apron from a hook near the kitchen entrance and tying it around her waist with practiced motions.

Her mother, Hanako Aoyama, glanced up from the large pot of broth she was stirring. Sweat glistened on her forehead from the steam rising around her, making her look like she was surrounded by a mystical fog. "Just in time. Your father’s handling the front, but we’ve got the lunch crowd coming in. You know how they get when they’re hungry."

Emi nodded, immediately falling into her familiar routine. This wasn’t glamorous Hunter work, but it was home—warm, fragrant, and filled with the chatter of regular customers who’d known her since she was little. Emi worked alongside her mother, assembling bowls of ramen with speed born from years of practice, her fingers dancing between ingredients with a grace that hinted at her natural agility.

"How was coffee with Natalia-chan?" her mother asked, ladling steaming broth over the noodles Emi had arranged, the golden liquid cascading like a waterfall.

"Great!" Emi replied, perhaps too enthusiastically. She felt her cheeks warm slightly, thinking of what else had happened during that coffee date—what Natalia had said about her stepbrother, the new, strange light in her friend’s eyes when she spoke of him. "We talked about the academy and training for the entrance exams. She’s so ready it’s almost scary."

"That girl’s going places," her mother observed, wiping her brow with the back of her wrist. "Her father being a B-Rank and all. The connections alone..."

"She works really hard, though," Emi said defensively, her loyalty to her friend immediate and fierce. "It’s not just because of her family. She trains like crazy even though no one makes her."

Her mother smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "I know, sweetheart. Just like you work hard. Your Aspect may not blow things up, but it saves lives. That’s worth more than all the flashy combat powers in the world."

Emi carried two completed ramen bowls toward the front of the shop, her heart warming at her mother’s words. "Thanks, Mom."

The Aoyama Ramen Shop wasn’t large—just ten tables and a small counter—but it was always busy during lunch hours, the steam-fogged windows a beacon to hungry workers and students. The regulars knew Emi by name, many having watched her grow up over the years, commenting on how tall she’d gotten or how her Aspect was developing. Outside the shop’s windows, Emi could see the bustling life of the Asahi District: vendors calling out their wares, people hurrying along the narrow shopping street, and the occasional maglev train rumbling overhead on elevated tracks, a reminder of how technology had advanced even as monsters stalked the wilderness beyond the city walls.

"Aoyama-chan!" called a middle-aged man at a corner table, waving her over with enthusiasm. "Still preparing for the big entrance exam? My money’s on you making it first try!"

Emi smiled, setting down bowls for another table before making her way to him, her steps light and bouncy. "Yes! Just a few more weeks now. I’m nervous but excited too!"

"You’ll pass for sure," he said confidently, his weathered face breaking into a wide grin.

Before Emi could respond, the shop’s door chimed, the bell tinkling merrily. A woman entered, ushering in a young boy about ten years old. The boy’s clothes were dusty, smeared with dirt and grass stains, and he cradled his right arm awkwardly against his chest, his face tight with the effort of not crying.

"Mizuki-san, Kenta-kun!" Emi’s father greeted them from behind the counter, his voice booming and welcoming. "The usual today? We just made a fresh batch of chashu!"

The woman nodded, guiding her son to an empty table with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Yes, please, Aoyama-san. It smells wonderful as always."

Emi approached their table with water glasses, the ice cubes clinking musically. "Hi, Kenta-kun! How’s the training going? I heard you got into the junior program!"

Kenta looked up, his eyes brightening despite his obvious discomfort, a flash of pride cutting through his pain. "Emi-neesan! Look what I can do now!" He reached into his pocket with his good hand and pulled out a small pebble, gray and ordinary. Concentrating hard, his small face scrunching with effort, he managed to make it hover about an inch above his palm for a few seconds before it dropped back down with a tiny clatter.

"Wow! That’s amazing progress!" Emi exclaimed genuinely, clapping her hands together. "Your earth-shaping Aspect is getting stronger! Soon you’ll be moving boulders!"

Mizuki sighed, gently touching her son’s shoulder with maternal concern. "He’s been practicing non-stop since he got accepted into the VHC youth program. That’s how this happened." She nodded toward his injured arm, where angry red scrapes showed through the torn fabric. "He fell during a training exercise this morning. Tried to lift too much, too fast."

Emi’s eyes narrowed with concern as she noticed the angry scrapes and purple bruising visible below Kenta’s rolled-up sleeve, the skin already swelling. "That looks painful. Have you been to the clinic? That might need stitches."

"We tried," Mizuki said, her voice lowering to a whisper, the weariness of a working mother evident in her tone. "There’s a six-hour wait for ’non-critical’ cases. We can’t afford a private Healer, so I thought we’d get some lunch first and try again later. The snack bar at the clinic charges triple for everything."

Kenta tried to smile bravely, his chin jutting out with determination. "It’s not that bad, really. I’m tough like a real Hunter." But his voice wavered, and Emi could see tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill over.

Emi looked around the shop, which was busy but manageable with her parents handling things. She bit her lip, weighing the fatigue she’d feel against the boy’s pain. Making a quick decision, she leaned down to Kenta’s level, her blue hair falling forward like a curtain.

"Hey, want to see something cool?" she whispered conspiratorially. "I’ve been practicing too, you know. And I think you’ve earned a little secret."