The low rumble of the electric vehicle echoed through the cabin as it surged forward. Itoshi faced the window, almost speaking to his own reflection while the dark, empty saga fields blurred past his vision.
He sat there with his elbow propped against the window frame and his palm firmly pressed against his chin. Though the interior of the SUV was noisy with the hum of the engine and low mumbles, his own thoughts were louder.
"So? Did you guys understand?"
Shawn asked, breaking the trance.
Itoshi finally turned his head, his eyes leaving the dark glass of the SUV. Shawn was looking directly at him before quickly glancing toward the others—Tomori and Aldrin were up ahead, while Kirashi sat behind them.
No one answered. Itoshi felt a surge of confusion; he hadn't been listening to a single word.
Tomori was the one to break the silence.
"I tried..."
Itoshi raised a brow and looked away.
"What the hell?" he muttered to himself.
Shawn just shook it off and flashed a grin.
"Oh well! You guys can handle it!" he chirped, heartily patting Ryujin's back.
Ryujin rolled his eyes, shifting his weight away.
"Stop touching me—"
"We've arrived,"
Aldrin reported from the front, his voice cutting through the banter as the vehicle began to slow.
From the back, Kirashi leaned forward, a sharp energy replacing his previous silence.
"Finally," he paused, a grin tugging at his lips. "Action time!"
"W-Wait? We're in different places?"
Kirashi asked, standing alone in the dark field as bullets began to flash through the night sky like terminal streaks of light.
Ryujin's voice crackled over the comms, cold and unimpressed.
"Maybe if you listened to the plan, you'd know what to do."
"Don't worry, Kirashi,"
Itoshi teased, his voice layering over the frequency.
"If you need to hold someone's hand, Tomori is with you."
Tomori landed beside Kirashi, her boots hitting the damp earth with a soft thud. She was already half-wearing her kunoichi mask, her eyes sharp over the fabric.
"Ew. I'd prefer if it was Kara..."
As Tomori stood tall, Kirashi's eyes practically turned to heart shapes. Even in the deep dark of the night, with only the waning moon providing a sliver of light, the sight of her geared up flipped a switch in him.
"HOH~ ZEXY KUNOICHI!!"
Tomori shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth despite situation.
"This guy..."
"Focus,"
Miss Gigi ordered, her voice cutting through the banter like a blade.
"Let's not play around anymore, shall we?"
In a heartbeat, the atmosphere shifted. Itoshi, Tomori, Kirashi, and Ryujin all replied in perfect unison.
"Copy, ma'am."
Just as Tomori and Kirashi were about to engage, the voice of a young boy came through—a soft, sincere request.
"Everyone... please take care of yourselves."
The weight of the request hung in the air. He knew better than anyone that if they didn't take care of themselves, the burden would fall on Kara to fix them—and he wasn't about to let her reach her limit tonight.
Tomori smiled, her eyes softening for a brief second behind her mask.
"You heard that, Windfreak."
She turned fully toward Kirashi, the damp air of the saga fields whipping around them.
"Let's take care of ourselves, shall we?"
She held out her hand, initiating a fist bump.
Kirashi grinned, his earlier antics replaced by a sudden, sharp determination.
"For Kara-san!"
He met her hand with a solid fist bump of his own, the impact echoing the pact they'd just made.
She sat there, all alone. In the bright, industrial confines of the hangar, she remained perched on the crates, silent and calm.
She whimpered, though she didn't let herself cry. Taking a deep breath, she rested her palms atop the cold metal of the crates and shook her head, causing her blue hair and the green helmet resting on her crown to wiggle slightly.
She finally stood up, the sound of her rundown shoes echoing briefly before being drowned out by the constant, mechanical roar of the hangar.
Just as the silence was about to settle, the familiar shriek of the oncoming Seele echoed once more. Kirashi and Tomori both snapped their heads toward the sound, their bodies tensing.
"Let's get herding,"
Tomori muttered.
"Five ahead. Wind,"
Miss Gigi ordered through the comms, her voice sharp and clinical.
Kirashi and Tomori rushed ahead, their steps and breathing syncing up as they dashed forward into the darkness. Kirashi kept a tight grip on his sheathed katana, holding it on standby, while Tomori readied the kunai in her hands.
"Head right... We're going to push them to our grinders,"
Miss Gigi commanded.
In that instant, the two pivoted. Tomori took the lead, her movements fluid and efficient.
"More are coming from ahead, focus on this bunch for now,"
Miss Gigi continued.
"Contact within seconds."
Just as the warning left her lips, a green flash tore through the air, passing directly between Kirashi and Tomori. They both barely dodged the blur of muscle and malice. It was a Seele.
"We got one!"
Tomori reported.
Kirashi didn't miss a beat, instantly pivoting to go after it.
"I'll take this one, you take care of the others."
Without waiting for a reply, he bolted through the night, disappearing after the beast.
With no hesitation, Tomori turned back to face the remaining four.
She adjusted the small night-vision device on her mask as it slid into place, covering her entire face and bathing the dark fields in a digital green glow. There they were: four wind-type Seele.
"Damn... these things are hella good."
She changed direction as she made her first move, slashing her kunai through the air. Sharp bursts of wind escaped the tips of the blades, though they only barely grazed the Seele.
The beasts skidded to a halt as the attack carved into the mud. They snarled, their predatory instincts flaring before they turned to face the source.
Tomori quickly ducked behind a low hill, staying out of sight as the beasts scanned the area.
She could hear them sniffing the dark lands, searching for her scent, before they began to rush forward again.
Tomori kept a steady eye on them, waiting for the right moment. Miss Gigi's voice echoed in her ear once more.
"Good work... they're now heading for our grinders."
Kirashi's voice crackled through the comms.
"Is this one turning too? It saw me, though."
"Yeah, all good,"
Miss Gigi replied smoothly.
"Rejoin with CottonCandy. You'll be moving to another sector."
She paused, a hint of tactical satisfaction in her tone.
"Rejoice. They're Earth types."
Just as Kirashi was about to rejoin Tomori, they both skidded to a halt, eyes locking onto one another. In a split second, they both shared a competitive grin.
"Race you there!"
Tomori challenged.
She leaped forward instantly, using her wind to catch the air and gain ground with ease.
"Not fair!"
Kirashi complained, bolting after her.
"Turn left,"
Miss Gigi ordered.
Using her wind once more, Tomori pivoted mid-air.
"I've got visual."
She paused, her eyes sharpening.
"I'm going to intercept now."
"Affirmative."
Not waiting for Kirashi to catch up, Tomori took a deep breath. While still mid-air, she threw a wind-infused kunai aimed directly at an Earth-type Seele's head.
The projectile whistled through the dark, but it only clipped the beast's arm. The limb vaporized instantly, but the kill shot missed.
The beast tumbled into the mud as Tomori landed nearby.
"Damn it! I missed!" she muttered.
The Seele scrambled back to its feet and snarled, but its predatory gaze shifted as it spotted Kirashi closing in. It lunged for him instead.
"That Windfreak..."
Tomori thought to herself.
"Showoff!"
She muttered as the beast tore past her. She tapped her comms.
"That's yours."
"Ez work!"
Kirashi replied confidently.
"I'll delay the others... there are two more here,"
Tomori warned.
She pivoted toward the rest of the pack still rushing for the frontline. With practiced precision, she let two more kunai fly. They struck home, sending three of the beasts tumbling down, causing the others to trip over the fallen bodies in the chaos.
She stood ahead of the downed Seele, preparing to neutralize them when her eyes suddenly widened. Another flash—brown this time.
"A-Another?! They're freakishly fast!
She thought, her head whipping around to track the blur.
Miss Gigi's voice cut in.
"Take care of those. Your speed is superior to WindFreak's. I'll leave these two with him."
Tomori pulled off her night-vision device and gave a sharp nod.
"This is gonna slow me down," she thought.
FWOOOOOOOOSHHHH—
With a violent gust of wind, she vanished from her spot. Five Seele had managed to break through, but she caught up to the leaks with ease. Her sunset-colored eyes glowed in the darkness as she reached the back of the pack. She threw another kunai—this one not infused with wind—simply to disrupt their momentum. The Seele tumbled, the one hit dragging another down with it.
As they scrambled to stand, their predatory eyes locked onto Tomori. She stood her ground, those glowing sunset hues staring back at the monsters. The Seele screeched before lunging in unison.
BWAH!
Tomori went for the first Seele with a kunai, and in a flash, it faded into vapor. The kunai remained floating in the air for a fraction of a second as another Seele rushed her from behind. She transitioned into a fluid flip, her leg coming down in a powerful axe kick that struck the floating kunai, driving it forward while her heel continued its arc into the Seele behind her.
The beast's head exploded under the pressure, evaporating instantly.
Following the momentum of the kunai she'd just kicked toward a larger Seele's chin, she suddenly appeared in the air, snatching the weapon back into her hand.
She took a deep breath, guiding the kunai with reinforced strength into the larger Seele's skull. Its head erupted and the body vanished while Tomori was still suspended in the air.
Two remained. She lunged down, concentrating air in her legs to amplify the impact. She formed another axe kick aimed at one beast's head, landing with her full weight. The Seele's body became disfigured and twisted before dissolving into nothing.
Dust rose from the damp earth as the last Seele screeched, rushing her in a final, desperate act. Tomori didn't blink; she threw a final kunai straight into the Seele's core. PWASH!
Tomori stood up straight, stretching her limbs a couple of times before she began massaging the legs she'd used for the brutal axe kicks.
"How the hell are Flame Boy's legs handling all that?.."
she muttered, removing her mask for a moment to catch her breath.
"That freaking hurts..."
She tapped her comms.
"Where next, ma'am?"
"Behind," Miss Gigi commanded, her voice sharp as a gunshot.
Just as Tomori started to pivot, her body buckled.
"Ack!"
She flinched, her movement stalling as she instinctively clutched at the source of the sharp, stabbing pain: her lower left rib.
"I damn forgot I just got out of the hospital,"
She thought, her teeth gritted against the ache. She took a ragged breath, forcing herself to stand straight even as her side throbbed in protest.
She had been pushing her speed and those heavy axe kicks like she was at a hundred percent, but her body was finally reminding her of the bill.
She started moving again, though she forced herself to keep her pace steady and deliberate this time. She couldn't afford to be reckless.
"Can't put too much load on Kara-san..."
She thought. The last thing she wanted was to limp back to the squad and force Kara to burn more energy fixing a wound that should have already been healed.
Despite the pain, she kept her eyes forward. She had to reach the next sector, even if she had to take it slower.
~~~To be Continued~~~