That morning, Shiro was sitting, his clothes freshly washed, although wearing them like that was normal, they smelled too good for his taste, next to him Kaede was sitting, a pensive look lost toward the window closed in the morning
—"Kaede...?"
—"A-ah?! Y-yes, I'll call Mizuki now, she's worried, isn't she?!"
So, Kaede clumsily pressed the buttons of a computer that was on the fine oak table in front of them, Kaede pressing one last button proudly, starting a call
The call was answered quickly, on the other side the swordswoman could be seen close to the screen, Yuzuki seemed to touch things on the computer, to finally move away slightly, revealing a Mizuki sitting calmly
Shiro glanced at Kaede, she would normally jump for joy greeting the two even if it was by call, but... her gaze seemed somewhat more serious, lost in her thoughts
—"Kaede, Shiro... you'd better tell us what's supposed to have happened"
Yuzuki murmured, standing beside Mizuki's chair, who had a dull gaze in silence
Since it seemed Kaede wouldn't speak, Shiro decided to start
—" Well... I'm not good at putting things into words, bu-"
—"Shiro, did you notice a helicopter following the fights?"
Shiro heard Mizuki's firm voice as he was interrupted, he had no choice but to shake his head from side to side, indicating he saw nothing like that
—" Good... that means they're more cautious now... anyway, we have the necromancer's face, I'm already well informed, he can't get close to Erithan without two of the 3 Hinokamis getting in his way, in the worst case, I'd send Yuzuki to fight"
The silver-haired one, for her part, had a gaze that reflected somewhat complicated thoughts despite her serious posture, finally, she raised her gaze to Shiro
—"Shiro, you all fought a woman who used a sword and a maho card if I'm not mistaken"
—" I still don't know much about cards, but yes... she used lightning in her favor almost all the time"
Yuzuki sighed in annoyance, covering her eyes with one hand
—"Her name was Amaya, right?"
—" How do you know...?" Shiro murmured, moving a little closer to the screen
—"Her last name is Kaminari"
The first to open her eyes wide was Kaede, somewhat surprised
—"She's my sister, Amaya Kaminari" Yuzuki murmured with some pent-up anger
[...]
Silence spread momentarily, despite their companionship, the tension in the atmosphere said otherwise, finally, Mizuki shifted her gaze to Kaede
—" Anything to say, girl?"
Kaede raised her gaze calmly, somewhat nervous at the question
—" Are you sure that... I lost my memory from one day to the next...?"
Mizuki looked away momentarily, looking at her own surroundings, to answer calmly
—"If you're interested in this, it's because you saw something... right?"
—"The card showed me"
[...]
—" Your past is a serious matter, I'll be able to tell you everything when I get bac-"
—"Is Calius my brother?"
The comment managed to surprise Yuzuki, who put the palm of her hand on the table in front of the screen
—" I said it's a topic for another day..."
—" Well, it's just that we're the same..."
Mizuki sighed, relaxing her head on the chair
—" I knew it was a bad idea to put you together..."
—"Mizuki, where are we...?" Shiro murmured
The gray-haired one brought her face slightly closer to the screen, a slight curiosity
—" They didn't tell you...? Seriously, from now on demand information... you're in Ritharion, the only city beyond the sea of souls"
—"Shiro, didn't you realize you were crossing the sea?" Yuzuki asked, a slight disappointment reigning in the one who had taught him about the subject
Kaede took Shiro's shoulder as a gesture of compassion
—" Um... Shiro spent the whole way here passed out
Yuzuki laughed slightly despite her seriousness
—"There haven't been problems with the ring?"
Mizuki asked, somewhat attentive to the answer
—"No, I was able to control it well..."
—" Of course, since it has part of my card..." Yuzuki murmured
Mizuki put her elbows on the table, sighing with some calm
—" All this confirms to me that... there are current humans who are against humanity"
The phrase carried great weight behind it, even causing silence to take over both rooms, Yuzuki crossed her arms and simply looked away, for her part, Mizuki didn't mind staying looking at the screen
—" By the way, you two will have to train a bit these days at the Valtherion facilities"
Kaede wrinkled her forehead a little and pressed her arm against Shiro, using it to show slight anger
—" But we just fought, we almost died!"
—"Your function as Erithan hunters is to fight..." Mizuki murmured, to then keep speaking
—" Anyway ,Kaede, do you remember that part of the book I lent you about the awakening?"
Kaede swapped her anger for a smile of expectation
—" Yes, the part where it talks about breaking the card's limits, the strongest ability!"
Shiro couldn't help feeling a tingle in his ear, remembering his confrontation with Amaya, Yuzuki's supposed sister, he wondered how strong she would be with that supposed awakening, and among his thoughts, a doubt arose that he couldn't leave blank
—" How strong is Akira with his awakening"
Yuzuki let out a slight sound of indignation, marking anger
—" That guy... didn't he tell you about it? His awakening focuses on memorizing the enemy's movements until it's impossible for there to be surprises, or something like that... it's sad to think that not even he fully understands it"
After Yuzuki, the wise one decided to keep speaking before the screen
—" In short, he spent most of the fight using it, although... to be honest, Akira is too strong, but he fails many times if he doesn't use his silly ability"
Yuzuki raised a proud gaze without erasing her seriousness
—" And that's why, even though he's the strongest because of his lineage, I could probably even beat him"
Kaede put on a challenging smile, looking directly at Yuzuki
—" Seriously?"
Despite the jokes, Yuzuki's smile turned into a serious look
—"It's a lie... in a one-on-one, always bet on Akira Hinokami..."
Those words carried a lot of weight behind them, to the point that just imagining the reason for the phrase let you understand its cause
—" In a one-on-one... is he that strong?" Shiro asked, in a slight murmur
Yuzuki laughed lightly
—"His power is comparable or superior to that of the emissaries"
—" Ah, I remembered the emissaries!" Kaede replied, somewhat animated about learning something from the books she reads to kill time
—"Yes... those weird legends from the books" Yuzuki murmured
—" Anyway, that's a topic for another day, I only have one more thing to talk about and we'll finish this" Mizuki said in a firm tone, but keeping her characteristic calm
—"Shiro... what are you doing with a walker's card...?" Mizuki murmured