It had been two days since Tetsuya and Ryuji's big wins.
And yet, here Shoto was—still in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Surrender the swords to me."
"You probably don't even have the guts to face me."
Zan-Xi's words played on an endless loop inside his head.
With a groan, Shoto turned onto his side, hoping that somehow the wall could swallow him whole.
Meanwhile, outside, Hikaru, Ren, and Ryuji trudged through the neighborhood, dragging their feet as they made their way to Shoto's house.
"It's been two whole days," Ren muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "And we haven't trained, sparred, or even heard from Shoto."
Ryuji scoffed, glaring across the street. "Tch. We've got three months left to train. Honestly, we could end this crap right now if we wanted."
Hikaru sighed loudly and came to a sudden stop.
Ren and Ryuji both looked back at him.
"Uhh, you good, Hikaru—?"
But Hikaru just lifted his head, face darkened with irritation.
"We wasted two damn days… and we haven't heard a peep outta him… or that stupid cat."
Without another word, Hikaru stomped ahead, rounding the corner and marching straight up to Shoto's front door.
Just as he raised his fist to knock—
BOOM!
—something slammed against the window upstairs.
Inside Shoto's room, Neko the cat had jumped straight onto the bed, his tail swishing with attitude.
"When are you finally gonna crawl out of your cave?" Neko asked, unimpressed.
Shoto didn't even flinch.
He just slowly rolled over again to face the wall, wishing for death.
After a long, heavy pause, he suddenly spun back around, grabbed Neko with both hands, and pulled him up so close their noses were practically touching.
"Where were you the past two days?" Shoto growled.
Neko just blinked at him with his signature derpy stare, totally unbothered. After a moment of awkward eye contact, Shoto sighed and dropped him onto the bed like a sack of laundry.
The cat waddled over to the window and peered outside at Hikaru, Ren, and Ryuji — who, judging by the bruises, had just gotten wrecked by somebody.
Neko turned back with a wide grin.
"We're going on a field trip!"
Shoto blinked.
Huh?
Field trip?
School's shut down, dude. Where are we even going—?
—
A Few Hours Later…
Shoto found himself standing stiffly on the deck of a massive cruise ship.
Beside him were Hikaru, Ren, Ryuji… and a few unexpected tagalongs: Yumiko, Mai, Endo—and of course, the mastermind Neko.
The ocean stretched out endlessly before them, glittering under the sun.
Shoto clung to the railing like his life depended on it, his gaze darting nervously from the water back to the smug little cat perched nearby.
"Y-You're not serious, right?" he stammered.
Neko's mischievous grin only widened.
Without warning, the ship's horn blasted, and they lurched forward as the cruise finally set off.
Meanwhile, Hikaru, Ren, and Ryuji were rubbing their heads and shooting death glares at Hina—who was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Did you seriously have to knock us out just to drag us here?!" Hikaru barked, still massaging a tender spot on his scalp.
Hina blinked at them innocently. "Huh? I didn't hit you… did I?"
"YES YOU DID, DUMBASS!!" the three boys roared in unison, their anger loud enough to startle a flock of seagulls overhead.
Elsewhere on the ship, Yuumo and Endo were already sprinting through the halls like kids at a theme park, their laughter echoing across the deck.
Shoto's aunt Mai, wearing a bright red bikini, lounged on a beach chair, sunglasses perched on her nose, completely living her best life.
Shoto, meanwhile, remained frozen at the railing, staring down at the waves in mute horror.
That's when Yumiko suddenly glomped him from behind.
"Shotooo! Isn't this exciting?!" she squealed, squeezing him tightly. "We're on a cruise together!! Ooh, I bet there's a pool! And buffets! And a karaoke night!!"
Before Shoto could say a word, she was already sprinting off toward the ship's interior.
Shoto stood there trembling like a glitching NPC.
Slowly, he clenched his fists at his sides, his face twitching.
Then, unable to hold it in any longer—
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!"
he screamed hysterically, scaring nearby tourists into dropping their drinks.