In the morning, Yagato was still there. Sitting on the cold floor near the door, his eyes were deep, empty pools, his face marked by the torture of the sleepless night.
He got up, staggering like an exhausted fighter, and ran toward the classroom where Nobaru usually taught. The students were already gathered.
"Miss Nobaru will not be able to teach today. Mr. Revita will substitute for her," informed Mr. Yamamoto Kiyoshi, the Director of Tatoro Elementary School, with an icy coldness.
Yagato walked across the room and chased the Director into the hallway.
"WAIT! Mr. Yamamoto! Where is Nobaru?! Why hasn't she come back?!" His scream echoed, loaded with despair and a fury controlled by exhaustion.
Since all Special Level missions were kept in absolute secrecy, Yamamoto barely looked at him.
"If she hasn't arrived, I'm sorry. You don't need to know anything else. Have a good day," Yamamoto said, with a cutting coldness that hurt Yagato more than a blade.
Yagato stopped in the middle of the hallway. His shoulders slumped. He was motionless, paralyzed by the shock and the solitude of abandonment.
Sensei Revita and the Absolute Form
In the classroom, the new Sensei introduced himself. Revita, despite his thin and almost fragile body, radiated a deadly seriousness.
"Sensei Revita, are you very strong?" Fukuoka asked, without preamble.
Revita smiled faintly. "Don't judge a book by its cover. True strength has a cost that you can barely imagine. Today, we are going to study: the Absolute Form."
"It is the moment when the Osmo and the host merge, allowing you to use 100% of your true strength."
Revita continued, his voice low but intense:
"But the price is MONSTROUS. The Absolute Form is fueled by RAGE. When the rage runs out, it becomes a parasite, beginning to devour your other feelings: pain, love, joy... Everything that makes you human. And, finally, it consumes the organs and destroys the body, leading to DEATH. The duration—days, months, or years—depends only on the host's willpower and control. If the human normally uses 50% of the Osmo's strength, in the Absolute Form, they reach 100%!"
"And how do I use it?!" Fukuoka asked, his eyes shining with ambition.
"By training. Overcoming your limits. Connecting to the soul of your Osmo."
"But isn't the Osmo dead inside us?" Zulian questioned.
"NO!" Revita slammed the table, making the chalk vibrate. "The Osmos that merge with us are descendants of Oki. They have no voice, but they have feelings, emotions, and a savage desire to fight. Think of it this way: the Osmo is the socket, we are the fan, and the electricity is the Osmo's energy!"
"Wait, wait. Am I the electricity?" Fukuoka asked, confused.
"No! You are the fan, the Osmo is the socket, and the electricity is the Osmo's energy that is carried to you."
"Ah, now I get it!" Fukuoka said.
"What an idiot," Zaren muttered.
"You're the idiot! Want to fight?!" Fukuoka retorted, already getting up.
"SHUT UP!" Revita intervened, giving a look that froze the fight.
"Now, a crucial detail: there are the descendants of Oki, and the descendants of Infinires. We suspect that Fukuoka's Osmo is one of them, but there is no confirmation."
"Sensei Revita, how do we know we are in the Absolute Form?" Yoshi asked, tense.
"In addition to the immense power, the Absolute Form of each person is unique, transforming the body. Nobaru, for example, has the One Hundred Petals, where her body fills with flowers. Each of you will have a unique manifestation, a reflection of your Osmo spirit!"
Hours later, the class ended.
"Do you think something terrible happened to Sensei Nobaru?" Yoshi asked, his voice full of apprehension.
"I don't know. But... Sensei Yagato looks like he's about to fall apart. Let's see how Sensei Yagato is," Fukuoka replied.
They knocked on his room door.
"Knock, knock. Hi, Sensei," Fukuoka said.
"Hi, boys," Yagato replied, his voice almost a whisper.
"What do you think about sleeping in our room tonight? We'll have a boys' night: popcorn, horror movie..." Fukuoka suggested.
"Thank you, boys. But today... I want to be alone," Yagato said. The pain of uncertainty was an overwhelming weight he needed to carry alone.
Yagato was alone. He closed his eyes, clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palm, and launched his silent scream into the void:
"Nobaru... If you got into trouble, I swear by this Osmo running through my veins that I WILL FIND YOU! I will bring you back!"