The afternoon sun stretched across the grounds of Reikosha Academy, casting long shadows over the training yard. The atmosphere had gone back to something close to normal, at least on the surface. Students moved around, some training, some resting, and others simply enjoying the calm before whatever came next.
Kairo was in the middle of that calm if it could even be called that.
He was running.
Not gracefully.
Not skillfully.
Just… running.
"…I'm getting faster," he muttered to himself, breathing unevenly as he pushed forward. "Definitely faster."
His foot caught slightly on uneven ground.
"…Wait..."
And just like that
He stumbled forward and crashed straight into the dirt.
"AGH!"
A few nearby students turned their heads, some laughing quietly.
Kairo groaned, face pressed against the ground. "…Okay maybe not that fast…"
Not far from him, Kimimaru stood with his usual calm expression, watching everything without reacting. His zweihander rested against his shoulder, his posture relaxed but alert like always.
"…Clumsy," he muttered under his breath.
Yura stood nearby, arms crossed, clearly unimpressed but not surprised. "…You say that every time, Kairo."
Kairo lifted his head slightly, dirt on his face. "…I almost had it…"
Before anyone could respond
Kimimaru suddenly froze.
His right arm twitched.
Then...
Shifted.
The skin along his arm moved unnaturally, rippling like liquid beneath the surface. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't normal either. The motion traveled upward before forming into something...
A shape.
Then-
A face.
And finally...
A full body.
Ishika stepped out from him as if she had always been there, her form stabilizing beside him like she had just walked through a hidden door.
Kairo blinked.
"…WHAT THE?!"
He scrambled backward instantly, pointing at her. "SHE CAME OUT OF YOU?!"
Kimimaru didn't react. "…Relax."
Yura's eyes narrowed slightly, observing Ishika carefully but not panicking. "…So this is the presence I felt earlier…"
Ishika dusted her shoulder slightly, her expression calm as always. "…Your academy is noisy."
Kairo was still on the ground, staring at her like his brain stopped working.
"…She's kinda… cool…"
His eyes suddenly lit up
Literally.
Heart shapes practically forming as he stared at her.
"…Wait… she's actually-"
Before he could finish-
Kimimaru kicked him.
Hard.
"OW!"
"…Stop that," Kimimaru said flatly.
Kairo held his head, wincing. "…I wasn't even done talking…"
Yura sighed, shaking her head. "…You're embarrassing."
Kairo pointed at Ishika again. "…But she just came out of him like a ghost or something!"
Ishika looked at him briefly. "…Skin manipulation."
Kairo blinked. "…That doesn't explain anything."
"She can move through living tissue," Kimimaru added. "…And reshape it."
Kairo paused.
"…Okay that's actually scary."
Ishika didn't respond, her gaze shifting around the area instead, taking everything in quietly.
Yura stepped forward slightly. "…Why are you here?"
Ishika met her eyes. "…Because something is coming."
The tone...
Was different.
Serious.
Even Kimimaru noticed it.
"…You sensed something?" he asked.
Ishika nodded once. "…Yes."
Back inside the faculty building, the atmosphere was far less calm.
Shougo stood in the training room, his body slightly hunched as he tried to steady his breathing. Sweat dripped down from his face, his muscles tense from overuse. Four hours.
Four straight hours of forcing manipulation energy.
And it showed.
"…Damn it…"
His hand trembled slightly as he tried to raise it again.
But before he could-
"Enough."
Judas' voice cut through the silence.
She stepped closer, watching him carefully with a small frown on her face.
"You're going to kill yourself at this rate."
Shougo glanced at her, his breathing still heavy. "…I'm fine."
Judas raised an eyebrow. "…You can barely stand."
Shougo ignored her, lifting his hand again, forcing energy through his body despite the strain. The air shifted slightly as he tried to move an object again
But nothing happened.
His body had reached its limit.
"…Tch…"
Judas sighed.
Without asking, she stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.
"…That's enough."
Shougo looked at her hand for a second but didn't pull away this time.
"…I still need-"
"No," she cut him off calmly. "You need rest."
For once...
He didn't argue.
Judas gently pulled him along, guiding him out of the room and toward the nearby resting area.
"…You're worse than your students," she muttered quietly.
Shougo let out a tired breath. "…They're the reason I can't stop."
Judas didn't respond to that.
But her grip tightened slightly.
Back outside near the academy gate, the air felt normal again but only on the surface.
Kairo had gone back to running, trying to prove he wasn't completely useless after embarrassing himself earlier. His movements were still clumsy, but there was more determination now, pushing himself harder each step.
"I'm not losing again…" he muttered. "Not like that…"
Kimimaru stood nearby, watching him silently.
Then-
He glanced to the side.
Ishika stood there, completely still.
Her eyes weren't on Kairo.
They were somewhere else.
Farther.
"…Something wrong?" Kimimaru asked.
Ishika didn't answer immediately.
Her expression remained cold but more focused now.
"…Yes."
Kimimaru's grip on his sword tightened slightly.
"…What is it."
Ishika's eyes narrowed just a little.
"…It's faint…"
Kairo slowed down slightly, noticing the shift in their tone.
"…What are you guys talking about…?"
Ishika finally spoke.
"…People."
Kairo tilted his head. "…That's normal."
She shook her head.
"…Not these ones."
Silence fell between them.
"…They're watching."