The courtyard was quiet after Mira's test. Dust still hung faintly in the air where Jayden's sword had cracked the ground, but the shieldbearer herself stood as steady as ever, unruffled even after the storm she had endured.
That was when Kiyomi stepped forward.
She moved with the easy grace of someone entirely at home under watching eyes. Her three tails swayed slowly behind her like drifting smoke, each motion too deliberate to be idle. Her sapphire eyes glittered with humor as they locked on Cain.
"My turn," she said softly.
Cain studied her in silence. He had fought alongside Kiyomi only briefly before. Just enough to know she was dangerous in a way the others were not. She relied on neither brute strength nor raw speed. Deception. Illusions. Precision. That was her strength.
He nodded once. "Show me."
Kiyomi smiled faintly, as though that was exactly what she had wanted to hear.
