The silence after the spar lingered longer than the fight itself. Both of them sat against opposite walls, catching their breath, the others watching quietly.
The dim crack of light above painted faint outlines across their tired faces.
Qin hugged her knees, her smile still hanging like a shadow.
'He didn't break. I thought he'd fold after a few strikes, but he clawed back. That makes him interesting. Maybe dangerous. People who survive pain are harder to control… but they're the ones worth keeping around. I wonder what his face will look like when he kills for real.'
Grimm pressed his palm against his cheek where her nails had scratched. His chest rose and fell with shaky rhythm.
'She's completely unhinged. That wasn't a spar, it was like she wanted to peel me apart. But I learned something… she fights by instinct, like she's always expecting to be attacked. She's faster than me, sharper than me, but she's reckless. That recklessness can be used… if I'm careful. Still, if I ever let my guard down, she might actually kill me just for fun.'
Hui leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her sharp eyes flickering between them both.
'Qin is dangerous, but Grimm is more dangerous in the long run. He adapts fast, painfully fast. Even under pressure he found openings. He hides it under that awkward look, but he's watching every detail. I'll need to keep track of him…'
Haoran brushed a strand of his purple hair back and chuckled quietly to himself.
'What a circus. They're all so quick to show their teeth. Good. They'll chew each other up before they ever turn on me. The longer they fight, the more I can measure their weaknesses. Qin's insanity, Hui's calculating pause, Grimm's hesitation… and hesitation will get him killed. I'll remember that.'
Qin finally broke the silence, voice sweet and airy. "That was fun. We should do it again sometime."
Grimm clenched his jaw, staring at the floor.
'She's crazy'
The others didn't answer, but their silence said more than words could: they'd all been measuring each other, even in that little cramped room, and every step forward only wrapped the noose tighter around their throats.
The four of them sat cross-legged in the cramped room, their books spread out on the floor like old relics.
The light from the dim crystal above gave their shadows sharp edges. Each of them had been practicing the camouflaging mantra for hours now—adjusting their breath, their posture, even how their gaze sat in the room.
It wasn't as simple as holding still. It was about blending, hiding in plain sight.
Qin tried first. She pressed her back against the wall, lowered her head, and slowed her breathing.
Her ponytail brushed her shoulder as she closed her eyes dramatically, muttering,
"Watch closely. This is what vanishing looks like."
The others gave her space, holding their breaths for a moment, but Grimm tilted his head almost instantly.
'What is she even doing? She's twitching more than hiding.'
He let out a snort, then burst into laughter he couldn't hold back. His voice cracked through the quiet.
"You idiot, you revealed yourself instead of vanishing."
Qin's eyes shot open, annoyed, her cheeks flushing red.
"What? I was sure I felt myself disappearing!"
Grimm smirked, holding his stomach as he tried to calm his laughter.
"How do you even feel disappearing? That doesn't make any sense."
The absurdity of it made Hui's lips curl into the smallest smile, though she tried to hide it.
Haoran shook his head, chuckling in that low, confident way of his. Even he couldn't resist.
Qin pouted, crossing her arms.
"Fine, laugh at me now. Next time, I'll scare the life out of you when you least expect it."
Grimm wiped his eyes, still grinning. "Sure sure..."
The air in the room softened after that. For the first time since they'd been thrown together, their laughter didn't sound cruel or strained.
It was rough and awkward, but it was laughter nonetheless.
Hui leaned back and spoke in a calm, instructive tone.
"You need to stop thinking about disappearing. Camouflage works by borrowing the rhythm of the space around you. Right now, you're too focused on yourself. That's why it's obvious."
Qin groaned but nodded, muttering,
"Fine, fine, I'll try again."
Grimm raised a brow. 'She's insane, but she doesn't give up.'
Haoran smirked and added lazily, "At least you're enthusiastic. Keep at it. The day you actually manage to disappear, maybe even Grimm won't laugh."
Qin shot Grimm a glare, but the corner of her lips twitched. For a fleeting moment, they all looked like actual kids practicing together—not assassins in training, not tools being sharpened.
Just children trying to one-up each other in a game none of them fully understood.
...
The days blurred into one another, marked only by meals shoved through the door and the steady rhythm of practice.
Their breaths grew quieter, their presence thinner, the mantra carving itself into muscle and instinct.
By the fifth day, Hui was clearly ahead of the rest.
She sat cross-legged in her corner, her short black hair brushing her shoulders as her chest rose and fell in the slowest, most deliberate rhythm.
Her scar—or birthmark—on her neck caught the dim light as she shifted once, then grew completely still again.
Haoran clicked his tongue, breaking the silence. "She's getting it. Look at her... her outline's already blending into the wall."
Qin squinted, frowning. "No, no, she's still there. I can see her."
Grimm smirked. "Of course you can see her. You're staring straight at her."
He leaned his back against the cold stone wall, crossing his arms.
"Try not to look for her. Just let your eyes rest, like you're not searching. Then you'll notice how much harder it is."
Qin rolled her eyes but did as he said. Her lips parted slightly, then she let out a sharp exhale.
"What the— She really is fading. If I wasn't already watching, I'd swear she wasn't sitting there at all."
Grimm nodded slowly. 'It's not just her posture. She's syncing her breath with the draft in the room. Even her pulse is quieting down. No wonder she's the first to nail it.'
Haoran pushed off the wall and clapped his hands once.
Clap.
The sound made Hui's figure twitch back into clarity. She opened her eyes and frowned at him.
"Why did you do that?"
"To test your efficiency," Haoran said, grinning faintly. "You hid well, but it broke the moment the environment shifted. If you can only disappear in perfect stillness, that's not enough."
Hui didn't argue. Instead, she raised her chin, calm as ever. "Then I'll practice until it doesn't break. A technique is useless if it collapses under pressure."
Qin let out a low whistle, leaning back with her hands behind her head.
"Scary. You're already talking like an instructor."
Grimm's lips tugged upward slightly. 'She's dangerous in a different way from Qin. That calm is… sharp and she doesn't get offended when corrected.'
Qin suddenly hopped to her feet. "Alright, my turn!"
Grimm groaned. "Don't embarrass yourself again."
"Shut it, centipede boy," Qin shot back, puffing her cheeks slightly before crouching near the wall.
She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breath. Her outline softened just a little—less clumsy than before.
Haoran tilted his head, unimpressed.
"Better. But not nearly enough."
Grimm smirked, though quieter this time. "At least you don't look like an idiot anymore."
"Ha! Improvement," Qin said proudly, ignoring his tone.
Hui just shook her head and muttered, "We'll get nowhere if we keep treating this like play. One mistake outside these walls and we're dead."
The words dropped heavy in the small room. Even Qin's grin faltered a little, though she quickly masked it with a scoff.
Grimm, still leaning back, closed his eyes for a moment.
'She's right. Out there, failure doesn't get you mocked. It gets you killed.'
The four of them went silent for a moment before returning to practice, each carrying that reminder in their chest, though none said it aloud.