Kaito's mind raced, a familiar, exasperated thought echoing in his head.
'Why does this keep happening?'
He mentally cataloged the string of bizarre and dangerous incidents: first, the hostage situation at Sakura Academy, then a bank robbery when he'd simply gone to exchange some cash, and finally, a Yakuza clan war where he'd been caught in a full-blown shootout during a casual stroll. He found himself genuinely curious, wondering if he was somehow cursed. Such a consistent string of misfortune couldn't possibly be explained by mere coincidence.
Eleanor's hushed whisper cut through his thoughts. "They also have explosives strapped to their chests."
Kaito's eyes narrowed. "Can you somehow defuse those with your ice ability, Eleanor?"
"I can," she confirmed. "but only the few who are standing near us."
There were seven hijackers in total, scattered throughout the cabin, with what appeared to be their leader standing menacingly in the very front row seat. Only two of them were within Eleanor's immediate range, close enough for her to freeze them. Kaito knew what he had to do.
"Velox Spiritus," Kaito cast. A familiar surge of energy coursing through his body, infusing him with even greater speed than he typically used. He would need take out all the hijackers and disarming their explosives in a single motion.
"On my mark," Kaito whispered. "go."
Eleanor nodded.
"Go."
Eleanor acted the instant the word left his lips, a blast of frigid air erupting from her hands. The two hijackers closest to them were instantly encased in thick, clear ice, their surprised expressions frozen in place
Simultaneously, Kaito speed-blitzed through the airplane cabin, moving from the very back of the plane to the front. Each hijacker he passed was rendered unconscious before they could even register his presence.
Within what felt like a single breath, the immediate terrorist threat was taken care of. However, just as Kaito finished disarming the last unconscious hijacker, he heard a chilling beeping noise emanating from underneath the seat. He quickly pulled out a metallic suitcase. Kaito snapped it open to reveal a bomb, its digital timer counting down relentlessly: 55 seconds remaining.
He tried to toss it into his inventory, but the familiar mental command failed. The item simply wouldn't go.
Durandal's familiar voice echoed in his mind, explaining the constraint: 'The inventory function cannot store active items that are technically under the control of their owner. To be able to put it in your inventory, you must satisfy the condition that its owner is not within a certain distance of the object, and that it must not be alive.' The bomb's 'owner,' the unconscious hijacker leader, was right there. There was no other location in the cramped cabin for Kaito to move the bomb to so that it would be out of its owner's range.
Thus, he decided to turn to Eleanor. "Eleanor!" he urged, holding out the ticking bomb. "Can you freeze it? Encapsulate it in ice!"
Eleanor quickly responded as she encased the bonb in a thick layer of ice. But through the clear, transparent ice, the red digits of the timer continued to tick down.
Without another moment's hesitation, Kaito kicked open the airplane's emergency exit door with a thunderous CRUMP. A rush of frigid, high-altitude air roaring into the cabin. He leaped out, not before pulling the door shut behind him with immense force, sealing it against the sudden depressurization. Eleanor was held securely in his arms, her eyes wide with shock, while the icy bomb was clutched firmly in his other hand.
As they plummeted through the sky, Kaito arced his arm back and heave the ice-encased bomb away from them. A deafening explosion blast sounded above them, the concussive force rattling the very air as the plane, now a distant blur, continued on its trajectory.
Kaito, controlling his rapid descent with a few powerful steps against the air, managed to bring himself to a complete stop, finally standing in the open sky.
They had taken a non-stop flight, and by sheer luck, were just moments away from arriving in Italy. Below them stretched the vast was the azure expanse of the Adriatic Sea. Kaito knew he wouldn't have enough stamina to simply air-walk all the way to dry land in Italy. However, he had a plan. With Eleanor in tow, he could strategically rest by creating temporary ice floats for them to stand on, allowing his stamina to recover if needed.
So, that's precisely what he did. Kaito shifted Eleanor into a more comfortable princess hold and began to jog across the air, setting a course directly toward Italy. As they traveled, Kaito focused on maintaining their current disguises. Both he and Eleanor now wore their faceless white masks, partially to obscure any would-be recordings of their impossible feat of walking across the sky. Outside of the sheer physical exertion on his stamina, Kaito's primary worry was being detected and potentially shot at by Italy's anti-air defense system.
"Kaito," Eleanor muttered, "can I have a piggyback ride instead? It's a bit... embarrassing to be held like this."
"Oh, sorry," Kaito replied. He stopped mid-air and carefully adjusted their position. Eleanor shifted, wrapping her arms around his neck and settling onto his back.
Kaito resumed his leisurely jog through the sky. He could feel Eleanor's occasional fidgeting behind him.
He then spotted a stretch of beach using his enhanced vision, quickly noting a more remote location with fewer people moving about. He subtly shifted course.
Moments later, they descended, landing softly near a secluded seashore cavern, completely devoid of any human presence. The gentle lapping of waves replaced the roar of the wind.
"Well, that took less time than expected," Kaito commented, flexing his shoulders. "I really need to learn how to properly fly later, though."
Eleanor fidgeted with her mask for a moment before pulling it off, revealing her face. Kaito followed suit, removing his own. He then pulled out his phone, checking the GPS. "It seems we landed near Bari," he observed. "It'll be a bit of a long trip to Rome from here. We can take a train, I suppose. And," he added with a rare hint of leisurely thought in his voice, "we might as well blend in as tourists and enjoy Italy's scenery while we're at it."
Eleanor nodded as a hint of genuine interest glimmer in her eyes as she surveyed the beautiful coastline. "That sounds... pleasant."