Badge beast

Many Years Ago…

Long before the mansion was built…

Long before the facility was hidden beneath the earth…

There was a time when humans and beasts lived in a world that was very different from the one known today.

The beasts were not ordinary animals.

They possessed powers beyond human understanding.

Some could control fire.

Some could command the wind.

Some could manipulate water, earth, or plants.

And among them were creatures known as Beasts.

The most powerful were given a different name.

Guardians.

Each Guardian was bound to a special badge.

The badge was more than a symbol.

It was a connection.

A human chosen by a badge could communicate with its Beast and, in time, inherit a portion of its power.

But the bond was dangerous.

If the human and Beast were incompatible, the power could consume them both.

For generations, people studied the Guardians.

They recorded their abilities.

Their weaknesses.

Their histories.

And eventually, humans began trying to control them.

That was when everything changed.

One night, an enormous white beast stood at the center of a burning forest.

Nine tails stretched behind it like enormous clouds.

Red gemstones glowed across its body, while jade-green markings shimmered beneath its white fur.

The beast stared down at the humans surrounding it.

They held weapons.

Chains.

And strange devices designed to suppress its power.

But the creature did not attack.

Instead, it looked toward a small object lying on the ground.

A badge.

Its surface carried the symbol of a leaf.

One of the humans stepped forward.

“Take the beast alive.”

The Guardian's eyes narrowed.

The ground beneath them began to shake.

Trees rose from the earth.

Roots twisted around the soldiers' feet.

Leaves filled the sky.

Then—

everything went silent.

When the soldiers looked again, the Guardian was gone.

Only the badge remained.

From that night onward, the records claimed that the Guardian had disappeared.

Its name was written in only one surviving document.

Kurama.

And beneath the name was a warning:

«The badge must never be found again.»

---

Present Day

“Naru!”

Naru stopped walking.

She slowly turned around.

Nobody was there.

She sighed.

“Must've imagined it.”

She looked at the large building ahead of her.

The facility was supposed to be empty.

At least, that was what everyone had told her.

It stood far from the mansion, hidden behind layers of trees and an old security fence.

Naru had passed it countless times.

She had always wondered what was inside.

Today, curiosity finally won.

She pushed open the old gate.

Creeeeak.

“Okay…”

Naru looked around nervously.

“This is probably a terrible idea.”

She stepped inside anyway.

The facility was darker than she expected.

Dust covered the floor.

Old equipment lined the walls.

Most of the lights were broken.

Naru pulled out her phone and switched on the flashlight.

“Why does every mysterious place have to look like this?”

She walked deeper inside.

A long corridor eventually led her to a metal door.

Unlike the others, this one wasn't covered in dust.

Naru frowned.

“Someone's been here.”

She pushed it open.

Inside was a small archive room.

Rows of shelves filled the walls.

Old boxes.

Files.

Books.

Records.

Naru's eyes widened.

“Whoa…”

She began looking through them.

Most of the documents were impossible to understand.

Then she found a thick, leather-bound file.

There was no title.

Only an old symbol stamped onto its cover.

A leaf.

Naru opened it.

The first page contained a drawing of a gigantic nine-tailed beast.

Her eyes widened.

“What…?”

She turned the page.

There were descriptions of strange powers.

Ancient creatures.

Badges.

And finally—

a name.

KURAMA.

Naru stared at the page.

“So this is real?”

She continued reading.

The deeper she went, the more fascinated she became.

Then something fell from between the pages.

Clink.

Naru looked down.

A small metallic object lay on the floor.

She picked it up.

It was a badge.

The same leaf symbol was engraved across its surface.

Naru turned it over in her hand.

“Is this… Kurama's badge?”

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

faint green light flickered across the badge.

Naru froze.

“…Okay.”

She stared at it.

“Definitely taking this.”

She quickly gathered the records she had found and placed them inside her bag.

Then she looked around the room one last time.

Nothing.

She had no idea that the moment she touched the badge, an ancient connection had already been awakened.

---

The Mansion

Hours later, Naru quietly slipped through the front door.

She tried her best to look normal.

Nobody seemed to notice.

She smiled.

“Perfect.”

“Naru.”

She nearly jumped out of her skin.

Kai stood at the end of the hallway.

His expression was calm.

Too calm.

“Where were you?”

Naru blinked.

“Uh…”

Kai looked at the dirt on her shoes.

Then at the scratches on her sleeve.

Then at the bag hanging from her shoulder.

“You went to the facility.”

Naru's smile disappeared.

“…How did you know?”

“You weren't there when I checked your room.”

Kai walked toward her.

“You know you're not supposed to go there alone.”

“I was careful!”

“That isn't the point.”

Naru hugged her bag.

“I found something interesting.”

Kai stopped.

“What?”

Naru hesitated.

She slowly opened her bag.

The old records were visible inside.

Kai's expression changed the instant he saw them.

“Naru…”

He reached for the files.

She pulled them away.

“I haven't finished reading them!”

“Give them to me.”

“But—”

“Now.”

Naru frowned.

“Kai, what's wrong?”

He didn't answer.

His eyes remained fixed on the symbol stamped across the oldest record.

The leaf.

The same symbol that had disappeared from history decades ago.

Kai finally took the records from her.

Naru watched him carefully.

“You know what these are, don't you?”

Kai remained silent.

Then his gaze dropped to her hand.

The badge was still there.

His face went completely still.

“Naru…”

She looked down.

“What?”

Kai stared at the badge.

For the first time, there was something in his eyes that Naru had never seen before.

Fear.

“Where did you get that?”

Naru looked at the badge.

“I found it in the facility.”

Kai immediately closed the records.

“Give me the badge.”

Naru stepped backward.

“Why?”

“Because you don't understand what you've found.”

“But—”

“Naru.”

His voice was unusually serious.

“Give it to me.”

She looked at him.

Then at the strange leaf-shaped badge in her hand.

Neither of them noticed the faint green glow returning beneath her fingers.

And somewhere, deep beneath the mansion…

something ancient stirred.

The Guardian had finally found its badge.