"Waahh! I'm beat!"
Itoshi shouted, flopping back onto the grass.
Meanwhile, Kirashi stood beside him, still brimming with energy.
"Dang, Itoshi... you gotta try harder."
"I... al... ready... am..."
Itoshi muttered between labored breaths—then promptly collapsed face-first into the ground.
Jayu rushed over with two bottles of water in hand.
The boys drank, and after a brief rest, Itoshi pushed himself back up and made his way over to Ryujin.
"Ah... Ryujin-san?"
Ryujin turned toward him.
"Yeah? Taking a little break?"
"How exactly are we gonna train?"
"Hmm..."
Ryujin crossed his arms.
"I'm not exactly sure how a Person Gifted of Flame should train effectively. Kirashi was taught by his master. So was I... but in your case, finding a good flame teacher isn't easy."
"Ah..."
"We might have to experiment a bit. It'll be more difficult, but we'll manage somehow."
Ryujin suggested.
"Okok!"
Itoshi nods.
"For now, focus on building your physical strength. Go back to training once your break is done."
"Got it!"
Itoshi returned to his exercises with a determined breath. Once he wrapped up his final reps, he immediately dove into his cardio—legs burning, breath heavy, sweat trailing down his jaw.
While the others loaded into the SUV and began the quiet ride back to the apartment, Itoshi made a different choice.
He ran.
With the sun dipping low over the Nagasaki skyline, he pushed forward down the winding paths and long roads. From inside the vehicle, the squad watched him through the windows in silence.
There were moments when his knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed. A few times, he did fall, hitting the pavement hard.
But each time, without hesitation, he got back up—staggered, steadied, and kept running. No shortcuts. No rides. Just him and the sunset ahead.
As the golden sun finally dipped below the horizon, painting the Nagasaki sky in hues of orange and crimson, the squad arrived at the apartment and entered the boys' room together.
"WE'RE BACKK!!!!"
His loud voice echoed through the room.
But the energy dropped instantly when their eyes fell on the unexpected sight—Kara kneeling next to Ayro, carefully dabbing at a fresh cut on his cheek with a damp cloth.
Her brows were furrowed in focus, and Ayro sat unusually quiet, his eyes half-lidded and his lips pressed into a thin line.
Everyone stood frozen, wide-eyed.
Confusion set in like a wave. No one had expected this.
They all slowly settled into the room, the noise and chatter fading as the atmosphere shifted to something quieter, heavier.
Ayro, now leaning back on the couch with a wrapped towel pressed to his jaw, looked around at the group. Kara sat beside him, arms crossed, listening quietly.
He took a slow breath.
"Alright... I'll tell you what happened."
Everyone leaned in slightly. Even Itoshi, still dripping in sweat, stopped toweling off to listen.
"I ran into her again. The kunoichi."
Gasps and whispers broke out for a moment, but Ayro raised a hand, asking for silence.
"At first, she just stood there. We talked a bit... nothing that made sense. But then something changed. She lunged. No hesitation this time. She went for blood."
His hand clenched into a fist on his knee.
"It wasn't a test like before. She meant to kill me."
Miss Gigi, standing near the window, exhaled smoke through her nose, her eyes narrowing.
"So she's not just watching anymore..."
"Her moves were sharper than ever. But something in her eyes... there was no hate. Just purpose. Like she had to do it."
Ayro added.
"That's bad news. That means she's crossed a line."
Kirashi muttered, pretending to think.
"She's decided something. We don't know what it is, but it involves us—and Itoshi, most likely."
Ryujin added.
Ayro nodded, his gaze drifting to Itoshi, who stood in the corner, now quiet.
"And just before she left, she muttered something. About 'Roger being right.'"
That name hung in the air like a stormcloud.
No one laughed. No one dismissed it.
Because deep down, they all felt it—something was beginning. And whatever came next, they weren't ready for it yet.
[Earlier Somewhere in the Streets of Nagasaki]
A thin line of blood trailed from Ayro's cheek as he shifted back into a stance, eyes locked onto the kunoichi now standing still, unreadable.
"Ah... why not pull out your weapon?"
She asked, her tone dry, breath measured.
"I don't need one,"
Ayro replied, casually wiping the blood off with his thumb.
Their movements blurred as the fight resumed—blow after blow, sharp and rapid. Ayro's footwork was tight, controlled.
Hoshi danced around him, fluid and aggressive, but Ayro's reflexes read every motion with ease.
Even when she summoned bursts of wind to destabilize his balance, he adapted.
A swift twist of Ayro's hand sent Hoshi's kunai clattering across the pavement, embedding itself into a far wall.
He lunged in for a punch aimed straight at her temple. Hoshi caught the motion at the last second and dropped backward, rolling away.
Her breaths came fast and shallow now. Ayro still stood calmly, eyes narrowed, chest rising evenly.
"That punch wasn't meant to land, was it?"
She asked between breaths.
"I don't fancy hitting women,"
He replied bluntly.
"Even if she intends to kill you?"
She shot back.
Silence stretched just long enough for the wind to speak again—rustling plastic, fluttering signs, whispering tension. Then Hoshi moved.
She took to the air, using the narrow city structures to her advantage. Pipes, ledges, rooftops—she knew them like the back of her hand.
She vanished and reappeared, striking from blind spots, aided by wind that cut and slammed. Ayro skidded back with each blow, his footing tested, his shoulders tightening under the pressure.
He raised his arms to guard, catching a kick that came from above, spinning to parry the next gust. His body began to bruise, but his focus didn't waver.
She was faster now.
But he was still reading her.
Still not swinging to kill.
Ayro stood his ground as the final gusts of wind blew past him, his arms bruised but steady. He hadn't swung back once.
Hoshi landed just ahead, one knee hitting the ground before she gracefully rose, flipping her kunai along her fingers with an amused smirk beneath the mask.
"What happened, Ayro?"
She asked teasingly, her tone sharp with provocation.
Ayro took a deep breath, lowering his arms slightly, though his muscles remained tense beneath the surface.
"Not holding back, are we?"
He replied with a slight exhale, his voice calm but wary.
In the split second of silence that followed, Ayro's senses picked something up—a familiar aura rapidly drawing near. Kara.
"Kara's here... it's not safe. Who's Hoshi really after? She must be aware of K—"
Before the thought could even finish, Hoshi lunged again, this time with a clear kill intent. Her kunai came for his throat—fast, direct, unflinching.
But Ayro was faster.
With a flick of his wrist and a crackle of dark energy, a jagged blade of shadow erupted into form, blocking the strike with a metallic echo that rang through the alley.
Sparks flew as steel met the unnatural.
Hoshi recoiled a few steps, eyes narrowing.
"A sword?!... Wait, no..."
She whispered, voice laced with confusion. Her fingers tightened on the hilt of her kunai.
"What is that?!"
The blade shimmered with pulsing darkness, unnatural and raw, as if forged from something deeper than magic—something old, something forbidden.
Ayro's eyes locked on hers, serious now.
"You're not the only one with secrets."
"Ayro-san?!"
Kara called out.
Her voice rang out sharp and sudden, cutting through the tension. She stood at the edge of the alley, eyes wide, locked onto the two figures.
Her gaze flicked between Ayro's shadowy blade and the masked kunoichi.
Ayro's eyes widened, panic setting in.
"Kara! It's not safe!"
He shouted.
But it was too late.
In a blur, Hoshi twisted her stance and lunged straight for Kara—silent, swift, and deadly. Her kunai glinted under bright sun heading straight for Kara's throat.
But she stopped.
The blade halted just two inches from Kara's neck, her arm frozen mid-air. The two girls locked eyes.
Kara stood frozen in fear, her breath caught in her chest... but then, something strange happened.
Behind the mask, Kara saw Hoshi's eyes—not wild, not hateful—but conflicted. Haunted. Human.
For a moment, the fear inside Kara dimmed.
And in that moment, Ayro acted.
Dark tendrils of shadow surged from his arm, wrapping tightly around Hoshi's limbs and torso like chains of smoke, yanking her back and restraining her in place.
She struggled briefly but was quickly held still, locked in the web of Ayro's powers.
"I said... it's not safe!"
Ayro ordered.
He rushed to Kara's side, keeping his other hand extended, maintaining the binding hold on Hoshi.
"Are you okay?"
He asked Kara, voice softer now, but his eyes never left Hoshi.
"Y-yeah..."
Kara replied softly.
Suddenly, Hoshi's body relaxed. Still bound by Ayro's shadowy hold, she let her kunai slip from her hand. It clattered quietly against the pavement.
"Let me go,"
She said, her voice low.
Both Kara and Ayro stared at her.
"Let me go..."
She repeated, barely above a whisper.
Then, unexpectedly, tears began to stream from beneath her mask.
Kara stepped forward instinctively.
"Kara!"
But she didn't stop. She crouched in front of Hoshi, gently placing her hands on Hoshi's face. Their eyes met—briefly, deeply—but Hoshi quickly looked away, lowering her head.
"Ayro-sama... let her go.."
Ayro hesitated, taking a long breath as his dark energy flickered faintly.
"Alright."
He gently lowered Hoshi to the ground and released her. She remained seated on the road, silent and still. A long pause hung between them.
Without a word, Hoshi picked up her kunai, stood up, and leaped away.
Kara and Ayro watched her disappear down the sunlit street, the weight of the moment lingering in the air like the heat shimmering off the pavement.
[Present Time]
"That's... essentially what happened,"
Kara said quietly.
There was a silence in the room as everyone absorbed the story.
"I still don't know what she's trying to achieve, But whatever it may be. She can no longer be treated as a 'neutral' entity."
Ayro muttered, his gaze dropping to the floor.
Kara added, her voice soft but certain,
"Her reason.. it must be something deep. Something personal."
"Do you sense where she is right now, Ayro?"
Ryujin asked.
"No,"
Ayro replied, shaking his head.
"She's out of my range. There are a few wind users nearby, but none match her power."
The squad was left with no answers—only more questions. Who was this kunoichi? What was her true goal? Was Itoshi her target? And why had she cried?
~~~To be Continued~~~