"I have one reason," Teshii said, smiling as he looked at Satoshi and Reina.
Reina raised an eyebrow. "One reason?"
Teshii nodded. "Yeah."
Satoshi, arms crossed and clearly curious, asked. "What's the reason then, Teshii?"
Teshii smirked and closed his eyes.
"The reason I'm still staying at Hikaru's is because I wanted Say–" He immediately opened his eyes and cleared his throat. "–I mean… it's because I fancy Sunshine's twin sister, Hikari."
Reina's eyes twitched.
"T-That's your reason?"
Teshii nodded confidently. "Yep!"
Satoshi narrowed his eyes. "That's… gotta be one of the stupidest reasons I've ever heard from you."
Then–
Teshii stood up.
"Well… believe it or not, that is my reason." He turned toward the door of the meeting room, placing a hand on the handle. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go and train the others."
As the door shut behind him, Reina and Satoshi exchanged glances. They both looked back at the window that revealed the living room, where Teshii was now speaking to the others.
Silence lingered – until Reina broke it.
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" she asked.
Satoshi didn't answer right away. Then–
"No."
Reina turned to him. "Hmm?"
"He was about to say something else before he caught himself and changed his answer," Satoshi explained. "I think… he was going to say something about Sayaka."
Reina blinked in surprise.
"Sayaka? Hikaru's mom?"
Satoshi nodded solemnly.
"Does… Teshii have something to do with Hikaru's mother?"
Satoshi sighed. "Can't say for sure."
They both stared out the window, watching Teshii laugh and talk with the others in the living room.
Training with Teshii
In the training centre of the safehouse, the Elements – Hikaru, Haruto, Moriya, Ikazuchi, and Reito – stood facing their opponent.
Teshii, wearing a loose black tank top, looked completely relaxed. His stance was casual, posture unbothered – as if he already knew he was going to demolish them.
Reito raised his hand, his breath silent, his eyes narrowed in deep focus. Around him, snow began to swirl – not chaotically, but in a precise, deliberate spiral. Ice crystals condensed midair, glowing faintly as they formed a dense sphere of frozen energy in his palm.
The lights dimmed. The air grew still.
"WHITE IMPACT!"
With a single, focused step, Reito thrust the sphere forward, releasing all its compressed force in a concentrated blast. The orb detonated on contact – not with fire, but with a violent eruption of frost and pressure. A silent explosion of snow and cold surged forward, a shockwave of white sweeping through the air like an arctic bomb.
But Teshii…
He only smiled.
Raising one arm–
Slash.
He sliced through the sphere as if it were paper.
Reito's eyes widened. "What?!"
Steam hissed from Teshii's forearm where the impact struck, but he didn't even flinch.
Then–
Electricity surged through Ikazuchi's arm, wild and untamed – until he clenched his fist. The energy obeyed. It gathered, crackling, and extended into a jagged blade of pure lightning. The air hissed around it. The ground sparked with each of his steps.
"LIGHTNING BLADE!"
He charged.
The blade slashed through the air, but Teshii dodged with ease.
Again. And Again. Ikazuchi swung relentlessly, lightning flashing with each attack – but Teshii moved like water, effortlessly weaving through every strike.
Then – Teshii crouched.
Ikazuchi smirked, raising the blade. "TAKE THIS!"
Teshii grinned.
In a flash, he slapped the back of Ikazuchi's knees.
Ikazuchi collapsed, eyes wide. "What the–?!"
He tried to rise – but couldn't move.
"WHY CAN'T I MOVE?!"
Teshii stood up, dusting off his palms casually.
"Pressure point, Zeus," he said coolly, nodding toward the stunned Ikazuchi.
Then–
He looked toward the others. Hikaru. Haruto. Moriya. Reito.
That calm smiled faded.
Teshii charged.
The others saw Teshii charging straight at them.
Hikaru and Haruto reacted instantly.
"ILLUMINATE BLITZ!"
A golden beam of light erupted from Hikaru's palm, slicing through the air with brilliant speed, surging toward Teshii.
"HYDRO VORTEX!"
Water gushed from Haruto's pouch, swirling into a cyclone that twisted violently toward their approaching target.
Two attacks. One from Light. One from Water.
Teshii's eyes locked onto both.
Most would've dodged. Most should have dodged.
But Teshii?
He kept charging. Unflinching.
Believing that he was built different.
Then–
BOOM!
The dual impact of Hikaru's light beam and Haruto's vortex collided with Teshii, unleashing a blinding explosion in the centre of the training centre.
Smoke engulfed the area. The walls trembled – but thankfully, nothing was destroyed.
Hikaru and the others watched in silence as the smoke began to clear.
"Did… we overdo it?" Hikaru asked cautiously.
Moriya squinted toward the centre. Then – he froze.
"Wait!"
A shadow moved within the smoke.
Step by step…
Teshii emerged – still charging, completely unfazed.
Hikaru's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No way! He took that like it was nothing!"
Moriya immediately slammed his palm onto the ground.
Just as Hikaru opened his mouth–
BOOM!
The wooden dome exploded.
"What?!" Moriya exclaimed.
Teshii reappeared – right behind Moriya and Reito.
They didn't even have time to react.
With precise strikes, Teshii karate chopped the side of both their necks.
Thud. Thud.
They hit the ground instantly. Immobilized.
"Moriya! Reito!" Hikaru shouted, running toward them.
The two gritted their teeth, struggling – but their bodies wouldn't move.
Then–
Teshii turned toward the remaining Elements: Hikaru, Haruto, and Ikazuchi.
He clapped. Slowly. Mockingly.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, Elements!" he called out with a smirk. "You've gotta do better than this! If you can't even beat me – how do you expect to survive against a mutant?"
Each of them clenched their fists, teeth gritted in frustration.
Then–
Teshii charged again.
10 Minutes Later…
The Elements were now piled on top of each other, groaning in pain like they'd been utterly destroyed.
And Teshii?
He sat casually on top of them, munching on his favourite snack – mochi – completely relaxed.
"You know…" he said between bites. "After beating–" he caught himself, smirking, "–fighting all of you… I've learned something."
Hikaru, crushed at the bottom of the pile, groaned. "What is it…?"
Teshii grinned. "You guys are absolutely useless without me."
Ikazuchi, squashed on top of everyone else, exploded.
"I F@#%ING HATE YOU, TESHII! IF IT WAS JUST ME AND YOU, ONE-ON-ONE, I'D DEFINITELY DESTROY YOU!"
Teshii raised an eyebrow behind his crimson sunglasses.
"Oh really? Weren't you the one who begged me to train you? Wouldn't that make me better than you?"
The comment stabbed right into Ikazuchi's ego.
"I… I hate you," he grumbled.
Teshii crossed his arms smugly. "I'll take that as agreement."
Ikazuchi said nothing.
Then–
Reito, squished in the middle of the pile, spoke up.
"Um… Teshii?"
"What is it, Sub-Zero?" Teshii replied without looking, taking a bite of his mochi.
"By any chance… are you… trained?"
"Nope." Teshii answered flatly.
Reito blinked. "Then… how do you know Kyushojitsu?"
"Kyusho-what?" Haruto muttered, trapped between Ikazuchi and Reito.
"Kyushojitsu. Kyushojitsu is a martial art focused on targeting pressure points," Reito explained.
"Pressure points?" Hikaru wheezed from the bottom. "You mean… like places on the body that… hurt… when you hit them?"
"Yeah," Reito replied, his voice still strained. "Pressure points are parts of the body where a well-placed strike or grip can cause pain… paralysis… or just shut someone down. It's all about controlling the nervous system. It's meant to subdue or disable an opponent quickly."
"IS THAT WHY I COULDN'T MOVE WHEN TESHII SLAPPED THE BACK OF MY KNEE?!" Ikazuchi shouted.
"Yes." Reito winced. "He hit your peroneal nerve. Classic Kyushojitsu technique."
"I knew that slap wasn't normal…" Ikazuchi growled.
"Is that so, huh…" Hikaru murmured. "Then… Teshii?" Did someone train you to do that?"
Teshii looked down at the human tower of pain beneath him.
"Weren't you listening, Sunshine? I literally just said no."
Hikaru groaned again. "But… how did yo–"
"Never mind that," Teshii interrupted, hopping off the pile like nothing had happened. "Training's over. Rest up – we've got a mission tomorrow."
And with that, he walked out of the training centre, leaving behind five groaning, battered, and very confused young warriors.
One by one, they untangled themselves and stood back up, nursing their bruised pride.
"That… that was weird," Moriya muttered.
"Agree," Haruto nodded, still rubbing his ribs.
Later…
Hikaru and the other Elements trudged back into the living room of the safehouse, completely battered from their training session with Teshii.
Ikazuchi groaned in pain as he collapsed onto the couch.
"How? Just how is a normal human like Teshii able to beat us – the Elements?"
Reito nodded in agreement, rubbing his sore arm.
"Yeah… we should be able to beat a normal human."
Silence fell over the group.
Until Hikaru finally spoke.
"…Teshii is also right."
Haruto turned to him, "Right about what?"
Hikaru sighed.
"That we're useless without him."
Everyone turned toward Hikaru, shocked.
"When I fought Smokewraith, I only beat him because Teshii showed up," Hikaru said quietly. "When Haruto and I faced Blood Mage… we won, only because Teshii had already weakened her.
"Against Velocity – Teshii was the only one who could resist him. And against Ghost, it was Teshii who figured out his weakness."
There was a pause.
"…But what about Shifter?" Moriya spoke up, hesitant.
Hikaru shook his head.
"If Teshii had figured out Shifter's ability before he caught him by surprise… I'm sure he would've beaten him too."
The room fell quiet again.
Everyone looked down, their confidence shaken. Deep down, they knew Hikaru was right.
Without Teshii… they were useless.
Then–
"What's wrong with you guys?"
A voice echoed through the room.
Everyone turned toward the source.
It was Satoshi, standing at the entrance with his arms crossed.
"You guys look like a team that's already lost," he said mockingly. "Like your key player just vanished mid-game."
All of them glared at him.
Satoshi scanned the room noticing something.
"Wait – where's Teshii?"
Hikaru blinked. "Huh? Wasn't he with you and Reina?"
"No, he wasn't." Satoshi's brow furrowed.
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
If Teshii wasn't with them… then where was he?
Meanwhile Teshii…
After completely wrecking the Elements in training, Teshii found himself wandering through the city, phone pressed to his ear.
"Cool… Well then, we'll see you there," he said before ending the call.
He slid the phone back into his pocket with a sigh.
Grrrgllle!
His stomach growled loudly.
"Damn… I'm starving," Teshii muttered, rubbing his stomach.
As he continued strolling through the evening streets, a familiar logo caught his eye in the distance–
7-Eleven.
Teshii's face lit up.
"Looks like I'll be getting some mochis," he grinned.
He took a step forward toward the store.
Until–
"Teshii!"
He stopped mid-step and turned around.
There, just a few meters behind him, was Hikari – her cheeks flushed, wearing her volleyball jacket with her hands tucked nervously into its pockets.
Teshii's grin widened.
"Well, well, well… if it isn't my beautiful volleyball queen."
Hikari's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "U-Um…"
"How can I help you, beautiful?" Teshii smirked, adjusting his crimson sunglasses.
Hikari stood there, frozen for a second. Her heard pounded. This was it. She couldn't let the opportunity slip away again.
She took a deep breath, summoning all the courage she had.
"Teshii…"
Teshii tilted his head slightly surprised but her sudden seriousness.
Then – without hesitation–
"Go on a date with me!"
TO BE CONTINUED!!!