[Earlier beforehand]
...
Rumblings and chaos were present above the prison. Ryu looked at Eiji and asked him worriedly, "Y-Yamamoto-san, what's happening outside?" Eiji was completely quiet, he was pondering something. He shrugged and nonchalantly said, "Dunno, kid."
The other prisoners were also screaming in fear, yelling curse words like a sailor pissing their pants.
They sat there silently for a while when Ryota came running down and stopped right outside their cell. In an urgent voice, he yelled, "Yamamoto-sama! Edo is under attack!" Eiji looked at him, sighed, and replied, "Look, kid, Miyako probably has it under control" Then, his words were cut short when Ryota yelled back, "The White Crow! They're back!" Eiji's eyes widened in fear. The same bastards that attacked Edo a long time ago, came back. In a shaky voice, Eiji asked, "What's the situation outside?" Ryota bit his lip and replied, "There's a giant skeleton raging up above, it already destroyed the outer walls by now... The people are currently captured by the White Crow..." Eiji went silent.
After a while, he spoke up, "Free my chain." Eager to do it, Ryota smiled and busted through the wooden bars and freed Eiji. Eiji stood up, and finally, his face was illuminated for Ryu to see. The face of a man who went through war and hell, scars all over his face, and a damn smug smile. "This time, I won't lose to them."
Eiji looked at Ryu and chuckled, "Kid, Aura Fighter, wanna come?" Without hesitation, Ryu nodded eagerly, yelling, "Hell yeah!" The three of them left the underground prison, leaving the other prisoners behind.
One of the prisoners spoke up, "Hey, did they just leave us?" *bonk* "Can't you tell, you idiot?"
...
...
The three of them finally got out of the building. For a second, Eiji was blinded by the bright sun, a decade and a half of being underground definitely contributed to that. He held up his hands to cover his eyes. Despite the flash of light assaulting his eyes, his giggle slowly turned into a laugh, finally remembering what it's like to be under the Sun. He probably went insane in his cell at some point.
As Eiji looked around, towers of smoke rose everywhere he looked, the situation was truly dire. And above all, the spectacle of a colossal skeleton slowly marching through the city. He commented, "Yikes..." He felt a tinge of fear in his heart, but it was burned up in a second, as he was determined to protect this city once again. Ryota patted Eiji's back and said with sad eyes, "If you're gonna escape, then I wouldn't blame you, you've already done enough-" Eiji shut him off, and said with a determined voice, "I'm not gonna escape, you brat." He grinned widely and patted his shoulder, "I already said it earlier, were you not listening?" Ryota giggled, quite jarring to see when it was coming from such a tall man. Eiji flinched back a little from the sight, "Jeez... You look creepy when you laugh." Ryota looked down in embarrassment. The scene was interrupted when Ryu yelled, "Look out!" Eiji and Ryota looked and saw five White Crow soldiers straight at them.
Ryota unsheathed his sword and Eiji was about to transform. They prepared a fighting stance when all of a sudden...
*BOOM*
In a blink of an eye, the five men disappeared, and when the dust finally settled, revealed the Tengu, Miyako. She looked at them and spotted Eiji. She held back tears as she said in a shaky voice, "Y-Yamamoto-san..." Eiji smiled and replied, "I'm back Miyako."
Miyako ran to him and hugged him. Seeing an intimidating Tengu hugging Eiji made Ryu question a bit, but he didn't push on. The four of them stood on an abandoned street and looked at the giant skeleton slowly walking. Eiji looked at Miyako and told her, "Miyako, care to give us a lift?" Without hesitation, she nodded quickly and replied, "It would be my honor, Yamamoto-san." Eiji smiled and patted her wings, "You've grown well, kid." She nodded and patted his back as well.
...
Miyako grabbed both Ryu and Ryota with her hands, and she looked at Eiji. When he nodded, Miyako took off. Using the superhuman strength of his Stone, he leapt to the sky and was grabbed by Miyako's clawed feet. The four of them zoomed towards the skies, preparing for a counter-attack.