Not that much?

Like this is still a primarily a battle shounen therefore very blunt with character in their intrest.

And all the usual attention would be diverted to Estele and Irina.

I could see more memes about Hayato's own harem being solely composed by the dangerous ones.
 
Not that much?

Like this is still a primarily a battle shounen therefore very blunt with character in their intrest.

And all the usual attention would be diverted to Estele and Irina.

I could see more memes about Hayato's own harem being solely composed by the dangerous ones.
Clearly you're not familiar with the fandoms of Battle shounen stories. :p

But honestly it likely depends on how the character dynamics are shown 'on-screen' to the people watching for Hayato and Yamato and their respective love interest(s) but well considering how Hayato seems to be the deutoragonist and his emotional bond with Yamato seems to be the most important for both of them I have my doubts on there being a lack of fanfiction shipping the two in the theoretical universe where this is a battle shounen...Even though they're twin brothers honestly knowing some people that may enhance the shipping...
 
Clearly you're not familiar with the fandoms of Battle shounen stories. :p

But honestly it likely depends on how the character dynamics are shown 'on-screen' to the people watching for Hayato and Yamato and their respective love interest(s) but well considering how Hayato seems to be the deutoragonist and his emotional bond with Yamato seems to be the most important for both of them I have my doubts on there being a lack of fanfiction shipping the two in the theoretical universe where this is a battle shounen...Even though they're twin brothers honestly knowing some people that may enhance the shipping...
Most certainly.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wz2KWCixtE
 
Interlude: Good And Evil
"You called for me, sir," Onishi Waka ducked her head as she stepped through the door into her boss' office. The moment she entered, she heard something heavy fall onto the floor with a loud thump. She idly glanced to the right to see where it had come from. She grimaced upon seeing the injured and bruised body of a man. She didn't know him but the state of his body was enough to rattle her. Bruises covered him from head to toe, and each one was accompanied by six holes as big as her index finger. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head while foam rose from his mouth. She saw his fingers twitch every now and then.

"Ah! Onishi! You're here. Please, come on over," her boss' confident and smooth voice reached her ear. The man sounded as jovial and excited as ever. As if there wasn't a dying man lying next to the door to his office. Onishi stepped over the body to get to her boss' desk.

Clearing her throat, she opened up the binder in her arms and spoke in a matter of fact tone, "I have brought the reports on supernatural sightings and activity as you requested. Based on my own observations, we have seen a .5% rise in these readings since the start of the year. These are well within our prediction models and, should they continue at this rate, we believe we will achieve our goal of 5.6% of supernatural beings from Avalon finding residence here in Japan. Of those 5.6%, we should have 3.2% of that population under our control through Bonding with our agents."

"Hmm," her boss said without looking at her. His chair had its back to her, keeping his full form hidden from view. His large brown desk was completely clear of superfluous items. The only things on it were a laptop, a glass cup filled with sparkling water, and a single manila folder sitting in front of him. His chair squeaked as he waited for Onishi to continue.

A bit confused at his silence, Onishi continued, "The secretive observations done by our Watchmen have told us that at least 89.3% of the Bonds made between our agents and supernaturals will be beneficial to us."

"And the remaining 10.7%?" her boss asked, his black leather chair squeaking as he moved again.

"That number encompasses those who were either killed by their prospective partners, managed a Bond but were subsumed by the supernatural's personality and power, and those who have been noted to abuse their supernatural partners. Said abuse includes physical, emotional, and...intimate abuse in the case of weaker or more submissive supernaturals. As per your orders, the ones who are subsumed are eliminated as soon as possible, while those who abuse their partners are sent to you for judgment," she glanced behind her at the man's body. He had stopped twitching and now blood was leaking from his mouth. His skin was rapidly turning a sickly shade of brown. She swore she saw skin sloughing off his arms to the floor.

"Ah, aren't Yokai great, little Shi-Shi?"

"Sir Mashima?" Onishi felt a her eye twitch at her boss' nickname for her.

"I mean, they can do so many things that normal humans can't. Move faster than sound, punch through solid steel, summon lightning from the sky to use as a weapon, the list goes on," Mashima's chair squeaked as he moved again, "Is it any wonder we humans are so enamored with them? We used to use them as scapegoats to explain why the world was the way it was. Yet, even after we learned the truth behind the world, we still find ourselves constantly going back to these beings. They're in our media, in our minds, and in our hearts. I just find that so amazing."

"I understand that, sir. And that is exactly why we're doing what we're doing," Onishi said while adjusting her glasses, "And, pardon my rudeness, but does this have anything to do with the reason you called me here."

"Tell me, little Shi-Shi; Do you believe that there is such a thing as good and evil in this world?"

Onishi did not hesitate to give her answer, "No, sir. There is no good or evil. Simply people who act and the results of those actions."

Mashima turned his chair around to look Onishi in the eye. He smiled and raised his hands in the air, "Well, good for you, you're wrong."

"Sir?" Onishi shook her head in surprise, honestly shocked at her boss' answer.

"I said you're wrong, Shi-Shi. In fact, if anything, your answer proves that you, yourself, are evil. Evil people are the ones who feel the need to justify their own actions by simply saying that there is no good and evil. After all, if you can convince people that there is no good or evil, then you can convince them to justify and allow any number of horrible actions," Mishima's jovial smile and tone didn't waver a single second as he spoke to Onishi.

Onishi blinked before shaking her head, "Um, I do not believe that is how the world works, sir. I believe things are more subjective..."

"Onishi. Is the sky blue?"

"Sir, wh-"

"Answer me. Is. The sky. Blue?"

"...Yes, it is."

"That is an objective fact, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, what if you came upon someone who said that the sky was green?"

"I would inform them that they are wrong-"

Mashima snapped his fingers and Onishi immediately went silent. His smile never wavered as he hopped off his chair and walked around his desk toward Onishi, "And that's where the whole subjective argument goes out the window. If everything in the world is subjective and merely based on what we as humans 'feel' is correct, then you cannot tell that person that the sky isn't green. You have to accept that this person is correct that the sky isn't blue, it's green. But that doesn't work, does it? Because the sky isn't green. It's blue. It's blue because the light from the sun reflects off the earth and creates a blue coloration in the sky. That is an objective fact that will not change just cause one person on the planet says otherwise. But, if you believe in subjectivity, then you can't say that. Unless you want to admit that there are things in life that are not subjective?"

As Mishima passed by Onishi he shrugged, "But, I suppose you could argue that such a thing doesn't apply because it's a fact of the world, not something that compares to humans and their morality."

Mishima went silent while standing just behind Onishi. He kept quiet without looking at her and kept his eyes on the pristine gray walls of his room. Onishi wasn't even sure if he was breathing anymore. Realizing that he was waiting for her to say something, Onishi answered, "I...suppose I would, sir."

"Right. And to that I would say, why do all of our civilizations have the same values? And I don't mean our modern day societies. I mean our ancient ones. The ones that came long, long, long before either of us were born. When we were just tribes who only barely understood the idea that planting things in the ground makes them grow," he started walking again, this time moving around Onishi in a circle. He looked at his nails and flicked some dirt out of them, "Those societies didn't have a single idea of what good and evil were. They didn't have any philosophers or great thinkers to consider their place in the world or whether or not the universe cared about their existence. They simply existed and tried to survive."

He stopped walking in front of her with his back to her. He held up a finger as he continued, "However, despite all this, many societies set their values based on the same virtues as others. The ideals of honorable actions, trust in your fellow man, kindness towards each other, and compassion to those less fortunate than you. How could this be? Why would people who didn't even consider their own existence outside of whether they would be alive tomorrow, decide that these values are what they should based on their societies on?"

Mashima turned around and pointed a finger in Onishi's face, "Because, deep down, we know what is good and evil. We know that there are things in this world that objectively lead to good outcomes, and things that objectively lead to bad outcomes. We may be led astray by our own thoughts and the words of others, but it won't change the facts that we know what is good and what is evil."

Onishi frowned and straightened up, "If that is how you see things, sir, then why are we doing what we're doing? I'd say that, by your own logic, the things that we do are indeed evil."

Mashima's smile only grew wider, "Why, my dear little Shi-Shi, the answer to that is obvious; Because I choose to be evil."

Mashima began to dance around Onishi, throwing his arms out while spinning on his heels, "I LOVE being evil. I love causing other people pain for my own gain. I love manipulating others into destroying the lives of their loved ones, and then taking everything they have left from them. I love watching people suffer as a direct cause of my own actions. I love manipulating people into believing there is hope, only to wrench it away from them at the last second. I love creating problems then selling people the solution at the cost of their autonomy. I. Love. Every bit of it. Why would I be good when I love being evil so much? And if anyone's got a problem with it?"

He stopped dancing and looked at Onishi. Then he shrugged, "Fuck 'em."

With a hearty chuckle he walked back to his desk. Leaping over the front, he landed back in his chair. It span around for a bit, before stopping with him facing Onishi. He put his arm on the table and stared at her with a shit eating grin on his face. Onishi remained impassive as she spoke, "Very good, sir. And, if I may ask this, why did you choose to inform me of all this?"

"Because you've been doing such a good job as my secretary, little Shi-Shi. You should know where I stand," he shrugged again, holding his head in his hands as he continued, "You got the rest of the report ready for me?"

"Yes. We are already in talks with at least three small companies and certain cabinet members. Our agents believe that they can convince the companies to join our conglomerate, and the cabinet members to allow us more leeway. No word on whether we will need to use more magical methods to convince them."

"Good, good. And what about those 'Templars' from overseas?"

"We have continued monitoring and influencing their group. In the last few years, we've identified five possible candidates who could morph the group into a full blown Anti-Yokai force that could jeopardize our mission. Three of these candidates have been dealt with, while the remaining two have gone to ground. We should have them under control soon."

"Eh, leave those two alone," Mashima waved a hand dismissively, "If we take care of every possible threat to us the moment it pops up, someone's gonna figure out what we're doing. And besides, we want to let those guys stay as a threat. The longer they're out there, the more they scare the more peaceful and non-confrontational Yokai. Who we can then invite to our little neck of the woods. Ah, I can see it now. Hundreds of my agents in every corner of government, each with their own Yokai partner. All standing ready to do as I say...and collect all the money from people who want a Yokai companion."

Mashima laughed but his eyes flashed with the light of malice for a second, "But make sure that not a single one of those fuckers makes it here. They can have their fun all over the world, and maybe send one or two of their brainwashed followers here. But the second they try to establish a foothold? I'll deal with them personally."

"Understood. Ah, and there is one more thing, sir. Our agents in Raijin Academy have reported back," Onishi pulls out one of her folders and holds it up.

Mashima claps his hands, "Splendid! So, what aspiring youth can we convince to join our little family?" He watches as Onishi puts the folder his desk. He carefully opens it up to the first page and begins reading the document...

...and then his expression falls, "Ah, fuck."

"Sir?"

"Onishi, this kid," he puts a finger on the photo in the document, "What's his name?"

"Hayato Nagai, sir. His is brothers with a prodigy named Yamato Nagai and-"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that he's in the school. Which is bad, especially if he happens to know we exist."

"Sir, pardon me, but I don't see how a single high schooler could possible be a threat."

"And that's exactly why you would lose if you were in my position, Onishi. Because if there's one thing we evil people are good at, it's recognizing when someone is a genuinely good person. We need to be able to do that. It lets us know who we need to avoid and who we can manipulate to do our bidding. And as someone who has been in this game for a while, I can tell you with certainty, that this kid?"

He presses down on the photo harder...and as he does an ephemeral green snake curls down his arm. It opens it mouth and some purple venom gathers on the tip of its fang. The raindrop sized dollop falls onto the photo and stains the boy's face purple.



"He is a certified good person. Which means he's a threat. And we need him gone."
 
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...Well, congrats, you've found a way to get me pissed off at this bastard with nothing but a picture.

As to the actual text, well, it's unfortunate that he's gunning for us specifically. And since he seems to have some kind of snake monster Partner, I'm gonna assume he's got an Evasion-heavy build, likely with a particular emphasis on Trickery. That's... not something we're built for.
 
I have a sudden burning desire to dye the ocean green just to prove that guy wrong. It's not about good or evil it's about not being an asshole!
 
You know I always wondered about these specific characters, the ones that know they're evil and have actually given philosophy a try. Then still decide to be evil. I always try to get into their perspective and fail a lot of the time.

It's at this moment I realized, this is just those people that like watching others suffer, but just brutally honest and self aware. A cartoon villain that knows they will probably lose and try to prevent it by actually giving their opponents respect is oddly scary.
 
Congratulations on proving his point :p
I dunno I just always found the idea of "good" and "evil" incredibly off. They are just labels, I still use them but in my mind it makes more sense to say they are a bad person rather than "evil".

It's not something I've ever thought deeply about so I doubt I'd be able to explain it properly. But to me calling yourself evil just stinks of self justification/delusions. He's honest in admitting he enjoys all the things he does but ascribes it to some nebulous label of evil like it's something to aspire too rather than just accepting he is an ass who gets his kicks by hurting others.

And I know I said all of that, but this is a shounen, so none of that actually matters lol. Good and Evil are most definitely a thing in a shounen. Honestly Link has done an exceptional job at crafting this story into the type of story he wanted it too be. Our expectations, what happens based off or votes, how things develop, reactions etc.
 
I dunno I just always found the idea of "good" and "evil" incredibly off. They are just labels, I still use them but in my mind it makes more sense to say they are a bad person rather than "evil".

It's not something I've ever thought deeply about so I doubt I'd be able to explain it properly. But to me calling yourself evil just stinks of self justification/delusions. He's honest in admitting he enjoys all the things he does but ascribes it to some nebulous label of evil like it's something to aspire too rather than just accepting he is an ass who gets his kicks by hurting others.

And I know I said all of that, but this is a shounen, so none of that actually matters lol. Good and Evil are most definitely a thing in a shounen. Honestly Link has done an exceptional job at crafting this story into the type of story he wanted it too be. Our expectations, what happens based off or votes, how things develop, reactions etc.

I mean, I never really had a story that I wanted this to be. Unless that story is "Cool Shounen Battle Quest with a Badass duo of brothers as the MCs".
 
He's honest in admitting he enjoys all the things he does but ascribes it to some nebulous label of evil like it's something to aspire too rather than just accepting he is an ass who gets his kicks by hurting others.
I don't know how much it would be that his view of "evil" would be nebulous. He seems like the kind of person that would ask if there was some inherent morality behind watching a baby starve to death.
 
Having someone who knows they're evil and owns it in this manner can be either really compelling or cliched and this seems to be leaning more towards the compelling.
 
"I said you're wrong, Shi-Shi. In fact, if anything, your answer proves that you, yourself, are evil. Evil people are the ones who feel the need to justify their own actions by simply saying that there is no good and evil
It could be considered a Buddhist philosophy too, that actions are just that yet also have the weight of positive and negative karma behind them, thus carrying that weight which would affect your next incarnation. Learning to shed such things and simply live a life free of attachment is one of the first steps to becoming a Buddha yourself.

And then some person may just have different accumulation of cones and rods in their eyes so the shy looks green to them, like how come people are colorblind. They aren't wrong, but just see the world in a literally different way.

What I'm trying to say is I hope this pretentious shit-gargler enjoys being on a scalding spike in hell.

…And apparently he brings out a downright visceral vitriol out of me, so well done on that. I look forward to us bringing down his little house of cards and punching him in the face.
 
It could be considered a Buddhist philosophy too, that actions are just that yet also have the weight of positive and negative karma behind them, thus carrying that weight which would affect your next incarnation. Learning to shed such things and simply live a life free of attachment is one of the first steps to becoming a Buddha yourself.

And then some person may just have different accumulation of cones and rods in their eyes so the shy looks green to them, like how come people are colorblind. They aren't wrong, but just see the world in a literally different way.

What I'm trying to say is I hope this pretentious shit-gargler enjoys being on a scalding spike in hell.

…And apparently he brings out a downright visceral vitriol out of me, so well done on that. I look forward to us bringing down his little house of cards and punching him in the face.

I mean, I gave him the Hazama/Terumi pic for a reason.
 
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