"Tell us everything that you know about who attacked you.", Enji asked Arashi.
"I honestly don't know much about them. " Arashi replied. "They looked like a kunoichi and an extremely skilled one at that. They were able to create 5 perfect after-image clones which should take years to even master. Their enhancement far surpassed mine too. I don't think that even you would be able to beat them Enji."
Enji then asked, "They spoke as if they knew you. Do you have any suspicions on who that could be?"
Arashi hesitated to reply. "I'd rather that we not talk about that. Especially if it's to do with back then."
"What is he talking about?", Shiro asked but the two of them refused to respond.
Kotsuki sensing the tension in the room, clapped his hands loudly as he shouted, "I dare say I'm getting quite hungry! How about Hoshiko and I prepare something to eat?"
Shiro then got up and said, "I'll help too."
9:37 pm July 28th, 2018
Shiro sat alone on the balcony, as he stared up towards the empty night sky, waiting for stars to emerge. Yet they never came.
"The sky is awfully dark isn't it?", Kotsuki said. "I can see that Hoshiko has been warming up to you quite quickly. What's your secret?"
Shiro responded, "Nothing much. I guess she was just a little uncomfortable around new people."
Kotsuki looked at him with a face of impression, before looking back to the sky. He then said,
"Do you know why psychic traits that affect the eyes are called evil eyes? It's because all the users who have ever had them describe it as a curse. Due to their overwhelming sensory capabilities, they have no choice but to live life unusually even for a normal psychic. Their physic trait, may not drain their power but at the same time, they are in use 24/7 without its user's permission. Once upon a time, I took Hoshiko to the park so that she could make other friends when she was little. But because of her eyes, she was clouded by the evil in everyone's hearts. She was still young so it scared her greatly. If anyone she deemed nice, did come towards her, they always left her behind in the end, leaving her alone. This solitary life deeply hurt me but at the same time, there was nothing I could do about it. But I'm glad that she was able to open her heart to you at least."
Shiro then asked, "If you care this much for her, then why haven't you found any other way to save her? Is there truly no other way to strengthen the seal?"
"I've been around for 2 generations worth of seals, and now I'm approaching the 3rd. If there was a way then I would have found it by now.", Kotsuki said hopelessly.
Then with a look of determination, Shiro said, "The night sky may be dark, but that doesn't mean stars don't exist. Just because we aren't able to see it now, doesn't mean that the light of hope isn't there. If you have given up on finding that hope then I will do it in your stead. I won't stand by and watch another girl die in front of me. I will definitely save Hoshiko."
"Interesting," Kotsuki said casually. "I hope that those words of yours aren't empty."
"Anyway we are going to have some other guests that will come over here sooner or later. They are some old friends of mine who will help me to fix the seal once it starts to break. The music that they play can double and sometimes even triple psychic power. They are essential to this ritual, so it will be up to you to defend them."
Shiro asked, "Is it good? I don't really listen to music that much."
Kotsuki responded, "I've seen them play twice now, so I can definitely vouch for them."
Suddenly Hoshiko bursted out of the temple, and curiously asked "What are you two talking about?"
Kotsuki hushed her down as he said, "Nothing much, we were just doing some star gazing."
As he said that, the dark sky suddenly began to clear up revealing the celestial river of stars that it hid within its blanket of darkness. As shooting stars darted across the expanse of space leaving ephemeral trails of light, Kotsuki looked towards the two younglings that stared into the sky with wonder.
He smiled as he left the two alone.
11:30 am July 31st, 2018
After 2 days past, not much had happened. It was decided that Hoshiko wouldn't be allowed to leave the temple due to Arashi's attack from TALON. However, this didn't affect her life that much.
Enji called out to Shiro and she asked, "We still have a couple of days left to prepare, so why don't we spare a bit?"
Shiro excitedly agreed, as this would be the first time that he got to engage Enji in combat.
The two stood a decent bit away from the temple while standing a couple of meters apart. Hoshiko and Kotsuki watched, while Arashi already left due to boredom.
As Shiro took a fighting stance, he asked Enji, "So what's your ability? It's unfair that you know all of mine already."
"This won't just be a spar, but also a method to train your intelligence. If an enemy knew your skill set, but you didn't know theirs, then what would you do? It is up to you to deduce what my ability is, and to figure out how to counter it."
Shiro instantly fired a dead bullet at Enji, which she promptly cut in half with her blade. A drop of sweat trickled down Shiro's head as he said,
"Since I'm treating you like an enemy, then doesn't that I should fight you like one?"
Meanwhile, he thought, "HOLY F*@K SHE CUT THROUGH THAT??? I TRIED TO SURPRISE HER."
A terrifying look then came across Enji's face as she said to Shiro while threatening him, "I'll kill you 100 times over for that."