Yamikuro, knocked to the ground by Urashin, struggled for breath. His body screamed weakness, but if he stayed down, he'd only prove Urashin right.
He stared at the gravel rocks before him, and anger and guilt built up in him.
Lucian used his daughter, Elara Daichi, who was Yamikuro's close friend since preschool. He killed Yamikuro's parents, or so he claimed. And now, he had killed Kazuhiko by influencing Elara.
Yamikuro stuck his hands into the ground and pushed himself up, his body aching.
"Fine..." He muttered to Urashin.
Yamikuro didn't fully trust Urashin, but that was his only hope. He didn't want to be a careless hothead who charged into battle head-on; that wasn't like Yamikuro.
Before he could speak further, Cedar adjusted his glasses with a sharp note of doubt.
"Wouldn't mentoring all of us alone be a hassle?"
"Who said I was going to train you alone?" Urashin said, raising a finger towards the sky, then dropping it downward.
That was his signal for the others to show up.
The group's throats tightened all of a sudden, suffocating them. Their knees felt weak, and breathing became unimaginably heavy, growing with each breath they took.
It was like a sudden, strong force held them in a grip.
The ground shook beneath them as a cloud of dust blew over their heads with a loud bang.
Cough cough!
The group covered their mouths, trying not to inhale any of the dust, as they were already struggling to breathe.
Rye Ginfay stood on the roof above them. He moved instinctively, trying to avoid the sudden surge in power.
He was almost going to cut down Urashin. But Rye didn't want to be careless; he had to calculate the situation.
When his eyes met with whoever showed up, he lowered his arm. It wasn't a person, it was multiple of them, four to be exact.
Once the dust was almost cleared, the others could see them as well.
Before them stood four very different people, each standing out with their looks.
The first one Kaminari spotted was a round man, called Sakei, with a bald head, a narrow and yellow beard, who wore a yellow jacket and black pants.
His appearance threw Kaminari off. The others seemed way cooler next to him, but his beard matched Kaminari's electricity color.
"Sorry... I was careless with how much Seikodo I released." Sakei said in a friendly and careless tone.
Isabella, however, noticed a girl staring at her with a displeased look as she chewed on gum.
That girl was Fuyari, who held a huge purple scythe, twice her size, with one hand behind her back. She wore baggy black pants, with a jacket, and had long black hair tied into two wild ponytails.
Isabella found her scythe intriguing, but her attitude didn't match her energy at all. Though she wondered how her sword would hold up against a scythe.
Neither of them said anything to each other, but it wasn't like they needed to. A lot was said by staring at each other.
Next to Fuyari stood a long, brunette-haired man with a light-brown fedora sitting on top of his hair. Over his white striped shirt, he wore a tan-colored jacket with blue ripped jeans tied close to his waist with a small brown belt.
His name was Sorl.
He held onto his blue sunglasses, taking a look at the group as he fidgeted with many of his necklaces.
Cedar stood out to him; he knew about Cedar's lineage just by looking at him. He was from the Genyju clan, one of the five noble clans in The Hideout.
The last of the four leaned casually against the wall, spinning a silver pistol around her finger as if it weighed nothing.
She wore a long, white coat with a black inner lining, its collar popping high around her neck, over a skin-tight navy top. Her dark cargo pants tucked into sleek combat boots, a gun holster strapped around each thigh like it was part of her style more than her arsenal.
Her hair was a sharp gradient, black fading into icy blue at the tips, pulled into a messy side braid that hung over her shoulder. A lollipop stick poked out of her mouth, shifting as she smirked at the group.
Two pistols rested snugly in her holsters, but she carried them like accessories, her confidence making them louder than any flashy aura.
"Each of you will have one of my apprentices train you," Urashin noted.
Yamikuro clenched his fists as Urashin's words echoed.
Each of you will have one of my apprentices train you.
The announcement rang hollow at first. A mentor? After Kazuhiko?
It felt like betrayal, like replacing a wound with a bandage that didn't fit.
Nobody spoke right away. The dust was gone, but the weight of the air hadn't lifted. The newcomers stood there like carved statues, their presence larger than the space they occupied.
Kaminari's eyes darted between them, especially the bald man in the yellow jacket, who looked like he didn't belong.
'This guy's supposed to teach me something?'
Sakei gave a lazy shrug, scratching his beard as if he could feel Kaminari's doubt.
"Don't worry, kid. I know I don't look the part. But trust me, I've kept people alive longer than you've been breathing."
The casual tone didn't sit right in the silence, and Kaminari frowned. He wanted to snap back, but something about Sakei's calmness kept him quiet.
Isabella broke the silence with a steady voice, her gaze still locked with Fuyari's.
"So, you're supposed to be my teacher?"
Fuyari blew a bubble with her gum, the pop loud in the stillness. She tilted her head, scythe resting lightly against her shoulder as if its weight meant nothing.
"I don't babysit. If you want to get stronger, you'll keep up. If not... you'll break."
The words weren't cruel, but they cut. She'd felt underestimated before, but this wasn't underestimation; it was dismissal.
For a moment, she imagined what it would be like to swing her blade against Fuyari's scythe. Not to win. Just to prove she wouldn't break.
Sorl tipped his fedora back slightly, eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses. He wasn't looking at Urashin anymore. His focus was entirely on Cedar.
"You carry yourself like a scholar, but those eyes... they're Junigenme eyes." His voice was calm, yet every word felt deliberate.
"The Genyju clan forces people to work under them. You escaped to the capital, but you can't escape what you were born with. You can bury it, but I'll dig it back out."
Cedar stiffened. He had run from the clan, from its suffocating rules and its cruelty, but Sorl had seen through him instantly.
His instinct was to argue, to deny it, but for once, words failed him. He only adjusted his glasses again, the gesture shakier than usual.
The woman with the pistols finally pushed herself off the wall, her braid sliding forward as she tilted her head at Rye.
"You looked ready to cut down Urashin when we arrived." Her voice carried a teasing sharpness, but it wasn't mocking, more like she wanted to see if he'd deny it.
But when Rye only stood still as a response, she put her focus on Deia. Perhaps Rye worked with him.
"I assume I'll be your mentor. My name's Kaela."
Deia felt intimidated by the group, so she only nodded.
Urashin finally stepped forward, his presence commanding silence once again.
"These four are not replacements for Kazuhiko. But they are the gateway to defeating Lucian."