Kaito had went back to the inn with the timid girl, but even after he had explained himself, she still couldn't imagine the crazy required to ask such a question.
But the wilds were a dangerous place, she figured that she would need help crossing such a vast advance. So eventually, she caved.
"Why're you gonna help Kaito, he said he was gonna attack your boss?" Dante questions.
The girl explained of the dangerous wilds, and Dante nodded, didn't need much convincing about that. She then tapped Kaito. "Besides, he isn't a real danger to Haruko at all."
All that comment made him do, is be more sure in going to visit this Haruko. So they all agree.
The timid girl bows, "My name is Patty Olsen." She introduces. They all do the same and now that they were acquainted they could plan the route. Dante noted that this was the city of progress, Fellshire gained this nickname for being a pioneer in the scientific side of Shea.
"Almost as great as the hyperway they have in that city, they created a way for non mages to move at the speed of sound, and the-" Nanami is cut off by Toni holding a hand in front of her.
"We get it N."
Nanami crosses her arms, looking away from the group. "I never get to talk science with you!"
They departed from the town, in the afternoon Kaito leading the way of course, sitting atop their cart and singing along to whatever Toni chose to play while they went.
As the hours past with conversation filling the day, Kaito wouldn't stop bombarding Patty with questions about Haruko, she could only answer so much before repeating "I don't know" or giving brief empty answers about her.
The day was uneventful, for everyone else that was a blessing but for Kaito, it was just plain boring, with nothing else to do they set up camp. Kaito cooked for everyone, Dante and Toni set up the camp, and Nanami made sure everything was fine with the cart.
Patty had settled into sharing a tent with Nanami, Nanami agreed, since Rika had left she was spending her nights sleeping alone, which made her feel lonely.
As everyone had plates in front of them, Kaito realized he made an extra one for Rika, he couldn't seem to get her out of his head.
That night, Kaito couldn't sleep.
At first he thought it was nerves, or the chill that clung to the air. But as he lay there staring into the dark, he realized something was wrong.
He could hear everything.
Not just the soft breathing of the others in the camp. Not just the wind moving through the trees. He heard insects crawling through blades of grass, the faint crackle of cooling embers in the fire pit, the distant rustle of something small moving far beyond the treeline. Every sound layered over another until it became unbearable a thousand whispers pressing into his skull.
Even the wind sounded loud.
Kaito squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his palms over his ears.
It didn't help.
His magic… it must be using sound.
He rolled over and grabbed the nearest shoulder.
"Toni." He shook him gently.
No response.
"Toni," he insisted, a little louder.
Still nothing.
"TONI!"
"WHAT?!" Toni jolted upright, nearly knocking foreheads with him. "What is wrong with you?!"
Kaito winced at the volume. "How do you control this magic? I can hear… more. Everything. It's too much."
Toni blinked at him, then rubbed his face tiredly. "Oh. That."
"That?" Kaito hissed. "It sounds like the entire forest is screaming."
Toni gave a small, understanding huff. "Yeah. It does that."
Kaito stared at him. "And you're just sleeping through it?"
"I don't know how to control it," Toni admitted. "I just… don't think about the extra noises."
"That's not helpful."
"It is," Toni muttered. "You're listening to everything. Stop trying to hear it."
Kaito frowned. "That makes no sense."
Toni shifted, lowering his voice. "When it first happened to me, I tried to fight it. Tried to block it out. Made it worse." He tapped the side of his head. "You can't silence the world. You choose what matters."
Another gust of wind moved through the camp. Kaito heard the exact moment it brushed through the grass. The tiny scrape of a beetle climbing a rock. Someone turning over in their sleep three bedrolls away.
"You choose," Toni repeated softly. "Pick one sound. Just one. And let the rest be background."
Kaito hesitated. The world buzzed around him, overwhelming and sharp.
One sound.
He focused.
Past the breathing. Past the insects. Past the whispering trees.
There.
The steady rhythm of Toni's breathing beside him.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The other sounds didn't disappear, but they dulled. Faded. Became distant.
The pressure in his skull eased.
"Oh," Kaito breathed.
Toni gave a small, sleepy smile. "Told you."
Kaito slowly lowered his hands from his ears. The forest was still alive around him, but it no longer felt like it was crushing him.
"Does it always feel like this?" he asked quietly.
"For a while," Toni said. "Then you get better. You start hearing things you actually want to hear."
"Like what?"
Toni smirked in the dark. "Like when someone's keeping you from your sleep."
Kaito smiled back. "Right." And with the help of Toni Kaito overcame the pressure of sound magic.