The fluorescent lights above buzzed weakly, flickering against the concrete walls of the underground room. Alexandrov Grigorovich stood at the head of a battered steel table, flanked by the Blood Fang trio —Zorya ,nicknamed Ripper, Mikhail nicknamed the Mauler, and Svetlana nicknamed Viper— each lounging in their own savage way.
Across from them, a terrified, trembling man was strapped to a chair, veins bulging and face pale. A failed grunt. A thief. Nothing more.
"Pathetic little insect" Alexandrov muttered, plucking a glass vial from the table. Its contents swirled — an unstable, blackish-blue serum, barely contained.
"No! No, please!" the man sobbed, trying to thrash free.
Svetlana smiled coldly. "Heh. That's the spirit."
With one smooth jab, Mauler plunged the syringe into the man's neck. His screams echoed through the room, then turned into a guttural, monstrous roar as his body twisted, bubbled, and collapsed into a shifting, monstrous mass of semi-solid flesh. Tentacles of goo slapped against the walls, dissolving brick and metal alike.
Alexandrov simply laughed, tossing the empty vial aside.
"Let's see how the city likes my little... appetizer."
Downtown - One Hour Later
The alarm blared through the comms in Ryusei's earpiece.
"Team Delta, move to intercept — target sighted on Canal Street!"
Kaz adjusted his gloves, standing with a squad of six uniformed soldiers. Ryusei, looking imposing in full military gear, nodded once.
"You ready, kid?" Kaz gave a cocky smirk, black flame flickering at his fingertips. "Always."
The giant goo monster towered above the streets, crushing cars under pseudopods of sludge, snapping lampposts like twigs. It reeked of chemicals and rot.
"Move in!" Ryusei barked.
Kaz shot forward first, dark flames roaring to life around him. He ducked under a massive gooey arm, unleashing a black fire blast that burned a chunk of the creature's side — only for it to immediately regenerate.
"Tch... figures," Kaz muttered. His
Squadmates flanked the beast, firing specialized rounds designed to disrupt unstable mutations, but progress was slow. Amid the chaos, Kaz caught a flash of movement on a nearby rooftop — a slim figure standing awkwardly.
Shin...?
Kaz blinked, distracted for a split second.
WHAM!
A slimy fist smashed into Kaz, sending him hurtling toward the building. He braced for impact — but instead, he felt his fall suddenly slow. A pulse of invisible force caught him, suspending him midair like a puppet on strings.
Landing gently on the rooftop, Kaz looked up into Shin's familiar awkward grin.
"Yo... long time," Shin said, a little shy.
Kaz laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Man, you always show up just at the right time."
Shin's gravity field shimmered faintly around him. Hesitant at first, he tightened his fists, narrowing his focus. The air around them warped as Shin pulled debris toward the monster, battering it with chunks of stone and rebar.
Kaz threw himself back into the fray, ducking and weaving alongside Shin's gravitational throws, Kaz propelled himself forward with two jet like streams from his palm dropkicking the giant goo monster. They worked together without even talking, like a natural extension of each other's moves — same as it ever was.
Mid-fight, Kaz couldn't help but grin.
"Some guys you just stay best friends with, no matter what."
The goo creature screeched, a limb trying to sweep Shin off the roof. Shin clenched a hand, increasing the gravitational pressure, forcing the goo's tentacle to slam into the ground with a sickening splat. Kaz followed up with a precision fire blast, burning a crater through the monster's center.
"Squad! Now!" Ryusei barked.
Specialized grenades were hurled — freezing the goo creature long enough for Kaz to ignite it fully. A howling shriek filled the streets as the creature finally collapsed into a hardened, inert sludge.
Victory.
The Aftermath
Back at the mobile command tent, Kaz pulled Kimiko aside. "Listen... about Shin," he said, hands in pockets, voice casual but earnest. "He's strong. He just needs a chance. Money's tight for him too. Why not bring him in?"
Kimiko raised an eyebrow but said nothing at first. She studied Kaz — the way he spoke, the way he cared.
So much like his father... yet softer. Kinder.
She smiled faintly, making a mental note.
"Maybe you're right," she said quietly.
As Kaz walked away to joke with Shin and the squad, Kimiko lingered, arms folded.
"You're growing, Kazunai," she thought. "In strength, and in heart."
Her smile faded slightly as she recalled the orders waiting for her:
Kimara's transfer was approved. She would be sent home overseas soon, far away from Tokyo's shadows.
At least Kaz won't be alone, she thought. Not anymore.
She closed her eyes briefly, breathing in the cool night air, before turning back toward the command tent.
One week later.
A wide, padded sparring floor under amber ceiling lights. Ryusei stands in his fire-toned gear, bare-knuckled and grinning. Kaz stretches his shoulders. Shin, unsure, fidgets while adjusting a small black gem hanging from a thread around his neck.
"Two against one, I don't care this a fair test for your friend but have it your way?" Ryusei smirks. "Let's see if friendship can beat experience."
Kaz bursts forward first, black flames flickering around his limbs like shadows.
Ryusei steps around him, redirecting him with a parry and cracking a flaming elbow toward Kaz's temple. Shin, reacting on instinct, tethers Kaz's foot mid-air, snapping him back like a yoyo and away from the blow.
"That gravity trick is handy," Kaz mutters, "don't let me get too cooked out there."
They regroup, and Kaz launches again—this time with Shin using gravitational pressure bursts to increase his momentum, making each strike heavier.
Ryusei is impressed but still counters them both with circular, controlled Muay Thai: leg sweeps, followed up with parries, and palm strikes imbued with simmering fire.
Kaz feints left; Shin tethers Ryusei's wrist for a moment — Kaz capitalizes with a knee ignited in blackfire, which lands and sends Ryusei skidding back. Ryusei, smiling despite a bruised cheek, responds with a rising fire-kick that singes Shin's shirt and knocks him across the room. He manages to slow himself down with his ability but it was obvious Shin wasn't much of a brawler. Ryusei closed the gap between them in a instant, striking Shin with his palm dead in the chest then hurling him directly towards kaz.
Kaz catches him. Shin's gem glows.
Kaz's hand brushes against Shin's necklace. Time slows. A scream rings out.
A boy cries for help. Kaz sees ash blowing in the wind. His 11-year-old self standing over a burnt husk in an alley, a small revolver resting firmly him his grasp. He hears whispers— first a few— then dozens. But one stood clear as day:
"Why did you do it, you- YOU MONSTER?"
Kaz stumbles back from Shin, gasping like he was suffering an asthma attack. Eyes wide. Flames coil uncontrollably around his arms. Ryusei immediately flares his aura, placing a barrier of heat to block him off.
"Kaz!" Ryusei snaps. "Control it. You can't let your fire consume you"
Shin, kneeling, places a hand down — his gravity tether grounds Kaz to the earth itself.
Kaz exhales. The flames settle. His hands shake.
Kaz, voice hoarse: "That necklace—what is it?" Shin, unsure: "Don't know. An old friend gave it to me. Said it was... important."
Ryusei looks between the two, concerned. "We're going to need to talk about that blackout, Kazunai."
As they leave the ring, Kaz glances at Shin.
"Weirdly enough... I think we're kinda synced, bro." Shin chuckles. "Guess I'm your gravity now."