The Cursed Children arc

The The Cursed Children is the second story arc of the Black Bullet series.

Rentaro speaks to Sumire about the Gastrea Virus, leaving her lab with an idea of where to begin looking for the Original Gastrea lingering around the Tokyo Area. Shortly thereafter, Enju and Rentaro walk about and see a Cursed Child bashed by society solely because of the blood running through her veins. Confused, Rentaro is later confronted by Kagetane Hiruko, who offers him an intriguing proposition.

Civil Security at War: Kagetane Reveals Himself
To confirm Kisara's words, Rentaro begins to search through the archive, only to see that there really is no report on a Spider Type Gastrea being defeated. He then talks to Kisara about the government not sounding the alarm with him as a witness to the Gastrea's invasion, but Kisara informs him that they would not use compulsory measures such as the alarm, closing her computer whilst stating that it is now up to Civil Security to handle the job. Rentaro then asks Kisara if she would like for him to escort her home, only to be told by her that she must go to the hospital for her dialysis. Before leaving, she asks if Enju already went home, with Rentaro responding positively. Kisara then recalls the time they met Enju, one year prior the current year, and quickly enough asks Rentaro if he has any goals; noting that when he was young all he ever thought about was finding his parents. Rentaro, feeling repressed, tells Kisara to mind her own business and storms off. Leaving Kisara speechless.

Outside, Rentaro remembers his parents' funeral and the time he was asked to become a Tendo by Kikunojō Tendo. He then snaps out of his thoughts and, walking away, tells himself that he will apologize to Kisara for his behavior. Arriving at the Magata Public University Hospital, Rentaro is greeted by, after playing a prank on him, Sumire Muroto, whom he calls his Sensei. Whilst there, the two talk about Sumiaki Okajima being brought to her lab, with Sumire angry at Rentaro for wounding the Gastrea so deeply. The two then converse about Gastrea, Initiators and their abilities, with Sumire talking about Evolutionary Jump. Shortly thereafter, the two part ways, Rentaro heading home and cooking for himself and Enju. After eating, he injects Enju with an injection that prevents her Gastrea blood from taking over. They then head to bed, with Enju angry at Rentaro for rejecting her "love." The next morning, the two get ready for school, but before they step out their house, the television calls their attention as Seitenshi and Kikunojō Tendo appear, ready to deliver information to the citizens of the Tokyo area.

As they intensely look at the television, Enju quickly notices Kikunojō Tendo, questioning Rentaro, who simply expresses his irritation and looks at the time; stating that it's time to go as he turns the television off. The two leave the house and ride their bike to school, with Rentaro asking Enju if everything at school is fine, with the young girl responding positively. Finally arriving, Rentaro reminds Enju to keep her identity secret, receiving a cold reply from Enju in mere seconds. Shortly thereafter, Mai, a school friend of Enju's, arrives and begins to walk to class together with the former. Rentaro then heads to his school, taking a nap as soon as he gets there.

As soon as the class ends and he wakes from his sleep, his phone begins to ring, with Kisara as the caller. However, he ignores it; only to have Kisara appear right next to him and lower her head to his position, asking him for his motives for not answering her call. Seemingly shocked, Rentaro questions her reasons for being here, with Kisara informing him that they have been called by the Ministry of Defense. Not long after, the two leave the school, and, whilst walking to the train, have a small argument due to Kisara continuously calling Rentaro a weakling. Finally boarding the train, Kisara falls asleep on Rentaro's shoulder, talking in her sleep about avenging the Tendo. As soon as they arrive, a woman opens the door, inviting them in to the room where the meeting will take place. Once inside, a man confronts Rentaro and Kisara by delivering a strong headbutt to Rentaro's head. Rentaro quickly picks himself up and challenges the man to a fight.

Shougen looks at Rentaro and questions his "tool's" whereabouts, leading Rentaro to ponder the meaning behind his words, angering him as he discovers that by tools he means the Initiators; in Rentaro's case: Enju Aihara. Before the two can continue their battle, a man interrupts and orders Shougen to take a seat. After he leaves, Kisara begins to explain to Rentaro that, that man is possibly Mika Island's Shougen Ikuma with an IP Ranking of 1584. The two, after Rentaro's visible shock at the revelation, take their seats and wait for the meeting to begin. However, as soon as they take their seats, they arise to great Seitenshi, who begins to speak to them via a projector, along with Kikunojō Tendo: Kisara's grandfather, whom she glares at.

Seitenshi begins to deliver the mission to the Civil Security present; annihilate the Gastrea that invaded the Tokyo Area a day prior, and to bring back a case presumed to be inside its belly. Kisara raises her hand, demanding more information. However, Seitenshi denies her request. Before the two can continue their conversation, however, a loud, maniacal laugh is heard, turning out to come for the masked man that confronted Rentaro. He gets on top of the table and reveals his name: Kagetane Hiruko, and declares himself an enemy of Civil Security. He then calls his daughter, Kohina Hiruko, who is also his Initiator, forward. Revealing his objective, being to retrieve the "Legacy of the Seven Stars," he states that he killed many men before reaching the room. Shougen, irritated by the man, grabs his Buster Sword and attacks him, but proves futile as Kagetane uses his Repulsion Shield to stop his assault and the multiple bullets fired at him; sending them back towards the crowd.

Soon enough, he restates his objective and leaves a present for Rentaro, leaving through the window with Kohina. A man then frantically enters the room and informs the people present that president Oose was assassinated, which leads Rentaro to open the present and reveal Oose's head. Seitenshi calms everyone down, but is yet again asked by Kisara to explain the situation further. Seitenshi, finally submitting to Kisara's question, explains that what Kagetane is after is an object that can being absolute destruction to the Tokyo area.

Sorrowful Truth
Rentaro and Enju look around a store for new items, with Enju showing Rentaro various accessories that she would like to purchase; the prices shock him however. She finally settles on buying a bracelet that shows when a person is lying—it breaks, quickly heading out of the store and testing it on Rentaro by having him state that he loves Enju; it does not break. As the two walk by, Rentaro looks at a screen and sees Seitenshi speaking, remembering the events that transpired during the meeting. After Enju snaps him out of his train of thought, he informs her that he was just pondering and also that there will soon be a new project that, if successful, prevents the Cursed Children from starvation. Enju holds Rentaro's hand and smiles, just before someone screams out to capture a thief.

The girl, turning out to be a Cursed Child, is ambushed by the crowd of people, trying to get help from Rentaro and Enju, but the former solely slaps her hand away. After the young girl is taken by the police, Enju confronts Rentaro for not helping her. He tries to explain to Enju that there was nothing he could do, but Enju states otherwise. Feeling guilty, he grabs a scooter from a nearby civilian and takes off as he tells Enju to wait for him at home. He is quick to locate her, but is left speechless when the police begins to shoot the young girl multiple times. Waiting for them to leave, he covers his mouth as he hides behind a wall; rushing to her side shortly afterwards. Momentarily questioning humanity, then, Rentaro feels the young girl's body moving—happy to see her alive. He rushes her to the hospital, where he is told that she will be fine, but as he starts to cross the road, Kagetane appears behind him; pointing his gun at him and evilly greeting Rentaro.

Kagetane informs Rentaro that he is only here to talk to him, but the latter retaliates and shouts at the masked man. Snapping his finger, he orders Kohina to cut Rentaro's arm. Kohina appears from thin air and ambushes him, but Enju appears in the nick of time to defend Rentaro. Kagetane stops Kohina's attack and begins to deliver his message to Rentaro; asking him to join his side. After pondering, Rentaro reaches the conclusion not to, only to be told by Kagetane that it's time for him to face reality. The next day, whilst at school, Rentaro receives a phone call from Enju's school.

When he arrives there, the principle greets him and questions if Enju is truly a Cursed Child. After Rentaro admits to it, he rushes out to his house to find Enju, thinking to himself that Kagetane's words meant revealing Enju's identity. He reaches his house but does not find Enju, waiting for her as time goes by. Heading out to find her, he comes to a manhole and knocks on it, being answered by a Cursed Child who tells him that she will get the elder so he can speak to him. However, Matsuzaki‏ accuses Rentaro of mistreating Enju along with the rest of Civil Security, which greatly angers him and leads him to storm off. Matsuzaki‏ heads back underground to see Enju, telling her that Rentaro is a good person. The following day, Rentaro receives yet another phone call informing him that Enju is at her school. He goes, but when he gets there, he is witness to the kids around her separating the desk to keep their distance. Rentaro, upset, leaves an injection with the principle and leaves to Sumire's lab. Arriving to her lab, he is confronted by his Sensei, whom tells him that perhaps the Cursed Children are God's way to get rid of humanity. Said statement angers him, but he soon understands the meaning behind her words and leaves to go by Enju's side. Along the way, he gets yet another call informing him that Enju is in a serious problem; the principal looking at the crowd gathered around her.