The sky darkened as the third round had come to an end, an ominous veil of clouds concealing the once clear skies. Suddenly, a low crackle of thunder rumbled through the air, followed by the hesitant droplets of rain. As the victorious team made their way out of the forest, the skies finally unleashed their full wrath. The rain began to pummel down on everything that stood beneath it, drenching all of the weary combatants awaiting the next round. It was as though the sky had been holding in its tears, waiting for the very moment that someone in particular stepped forward.
It was at the edge of the forest where Kurashi stood alone, his figure a silhouette behind his conversing teammates. The black hoodie, which he wore over his uniform, slowly became saturated with water. His pitch-black hair clung to his forehead, stray strands tracing his sharp features as he watched the previous round's fighters limp out of the woods. Unlike the first two rounds, it was not blatantly clear who the winning team was, as every trainee who came out was battered. It was an obvious sign that they all put up a hard fight.
"Round four...will now commence!", the low voice of an instructor echoed through the rain.
As a collective group, those who had yet to face the trails of battle stepped forward, their figures now blurred by the downpour. The forest itself was now a dark fortress, shrouded by mist and shadow. The trees towered above the trainees like silent sentinels, their branches offering little protection from the relentless storm.
"Damn this rain!", the boy leading Kurashi's team muttered, wiping his soaked face in irritation, "It's just going to make everything harder".
"For real!", another boy added in, kicking his feet through the mud, "As if the terrain wasn't bad enough. Now it's near impossible to see a thing"!
"It's okay guys, the other teams are dealing with the same thing.", a girl in the group added, her voice soft yet attempting optimism.", "Let's try not to think about it too much".
Though she tried lifting everyone's spirits, the girl's statement did not land well.
"Oh sure, let's just ignore it, right? You think some positivity's gonna stop us from slipping on our asses out here?", the leading boy said, his sarcasm leading the girl back into silence.
The girl's hopeful expression faltered as she stared at the ground, her shoulders shrinking under the weight of his remark.
The voices of Kurashi's teammates began to slowly fade into the background as he zoned out, letting himself get lost in the symphony of the rain. The sound was oddly hypnotic, causing Kurashi to fall further behind his team. It was a lullaby of chaos, a storm singing of violence and sorrow. Though it spoke differently for Kurashi, as for him it was full of order and tranquility.
"And you...", the leader said as he shot a glance back at Kurashi.
Kurashi's gaze lifted slowly as he came back to reality, his darkened eyes meeting the leader's without a hint of emotion.
"I thought you were supposed to be something special.", the leader continued with his eyebrow raised, "For an Ito, you're nowhere near as impressive as I expected you to be. Seems like you can't even keep up with the rest of us, huh"?
"Yeah, you'd think with a family history like that, you'd be out there leading the charge, but no...", the other boy added in, shaking his head in disappointment, "I guess the name just doesn't carry as much weight as we thought".
Kurashi's expression remained unchanged as he kept his gaze ahead, his steps unfaltering as he continued to walk. He was never one to respond to insults, especially not ones so petty, but the weight of their words created a tension that was hard to ignore.
"Hey! Are you deaf or something?", the leader shouted, his irritation towards Kurashi now very clear, "You think you're too good to answer a question? Think you're just gonna stand there and do nothing while we do all the work, is that it?"
Kurashi's unfazed movements only angered the leader even further.
"Fine!", the leader stated as he turned to the rest of the team, lifting his hand dismissively in Kurashi's direction, "Leave him...he's just dead weight at this point. If he wants to drag his feet, let him. He'll only slow us down anyway".
The girl, despite her earlier silence, glanced back at Kurashi, her face a mix of apology and frustration. She seemed to want to say something in his defense but thought better of it, her shoulders slumping as she quickened her pace to catch up with the others.
His silence wasn't one of submission, but rather the silence of someone who did not need to prove anything. He knew what he was capable of, knew the strength that he had within him.
After some time, they reached their designated starting location, a small clearing of bushes where surrounding trees protected them from the rain.
"Alright..." the leader said, his voice still sharp with aggression, "let's go over our plan one more time. We don't have much time before the round starts so let's go over this quickly".
"Do you think he's a nuisance?", the other girl who hadn't spoken yet questioned, her expression full of uncertainty, "Have you not heard what the 'Ito' are capable of"?
The leader responded quickly to the girl, "Look, I don't care what his name is. If he can't keep up, he's useless to us...I know I made the right call".
After an awkward stage of silence, they began to talk strategy, laying out ideas and directions for the upcoming battle. How they would attack, how they would defend, but as they discussed, they were cut off by the sound of soft footsteps approaching. Emerging from the trees, drenched from head to toe, Kurashi stepped into the opening. Without them knowing, he had been following them all along, moving at his own deliberate pace.
Kurashi said nothing in his return, and just simply stood there silently.
The leader had no words for the late member and ground his teeth as he forced himself to ignore Kurashi. Even as the leader began to outline the plan, the others couldn't help but glance over at Kurashi. The tension in the air swallowed them with each passing moment, as they were unsure what Kurashi was truly capable of, or what he might be holding back.
And when that time truly came, Kurashi would remind them all what it meant to be gifted the name 'Ito'.