The Hunt Begins

The world I’d always known, the one painted in the soft hues of breakfast cereal, homework assignments, and Kiki’s infectious laughter, dissolved in a single, violent instant. It was the kind of instant that ripped through the fabric of everything, leaving behind only jagged edges and the acrid smell of fear. One moment, I was sprawled on the living room rug, trying to explain the intricacies of Pokémon evolution to Mom, and the next, the windows imploded, glass shards raining down like lethal confetti.

Dad, Yuji, moved with a speed I’d never witnessed, a blur of protective instinct. He shoved Mom and me behind the battered armchair, his hands glowing with an ethereal, golden light. Mom, Nobara, was already on her feet, a furious scowl etched onto her face, a wicked-looking hammer appearing in her hands as if conjured from thin air.

“David, get down!” Dad’s voice was a low growl, a sound utterly alien to the gentle man who always smelled faintly of sunshine and old books.