"Geez, did you really have to leave me alone? I could've been hurt, capisce!" Claire complained.
Claire followed Kazuki, screaming her complaints. He didn't respond at all as they walked forward, pushing through thick leaves, bushes, and weaker Akumos that they quickly took care of. Their footsteps crunched on the dried leaves below, and the warmth of the sun, which had shone brightly on the plains, began to fade. Sunbeams now pierced through gaps in the tree leaves.
"Hey, come on! You can't keep ignoring me!" Claire yelled, gradually getting more annoyed by his attitude.
Kazuki continued walking, ignoring her like nothing had happened, as if no one was behind him constantly trying to talk to him. Claire became restless, twirling a strand of her sunflower hair as she walked behind Kazuki. She felt awkward around him, wanting to speak her mind but unable to, especially with a man like him.
She kept recalling the event that occurred between them, growing tired of it, trying her best to forget. But she was the type to overthink and regret things constantly, especially when she felt she had caused trouble for someone else. Several nights had passed since the incident, leading up to her first day at the academy without sleep, as she constantly blamed herself.
"I-I just t-think we should work together at the very least," Claire pointed out, a shy frown on her face, stuttering. "I j-just wanted to let you know that... We can't keep going on like this, with you acting like I don't exist..."
Claire felt uneasy, shy, and awkward. Despite her complaints, Kazuki never once responded, not even with a minor gesture. What made her most uneasy were the thoughts and emotions she couldn't properly express, especially to a man who didn't seem human both physically and emotionally.
"Look, I get that you don't want to talk to me, especially after what happened, and I'm sorry. But at least have the courtesy to say something to me," Claire said, her apologetic tone gradually shifting to one of frustration. "You can't just ignore me, capisce. You ought to atleast say something, anything..."
Yet, with no luck, Kazuki walked forward, giving her no attention. Claire kept recalling and trying to forget how she had dragged him into the explosion with her recklessness. He didn't seem annoyed or angry by her presence, which led her to believe he simply didn't want to talk, being the type who doesn't engage in conversation.
Suddenly, the ground and trees shook slightly as the grass and leaves swayed. Kazuki glanced to his left to see another Kurutor charging toward them, wielding a two-handed mace. The creature immediately bashed toward Kazuki, who leaped to dodge the attack while maintaining his emotionless gaze. The mace crashed into the ground, blowing away grass and fallen leaves, creating a small dirt crater.
As soon as the creature pulled out its mace, preparing to attack Kazuki again, Claire appeared, sliding her back with an arrow pointed at the Kurutor. A confident smile played on her face as the Kurutor glanced down at her in shock.
"Hayooo..." Claire teased confidently.
She immediately released her arrow toward the creature's jaw, causing its head to jerk upward. Sliding under the Akumo, she propelled herself upward, continuously pulling out arrows from her quiver and releasing them at the creature, aiming randomly across its head and chest. The Kurutor turned toward Claire, its attention caught, yet her attacks barely wounded the hard-bodied creature. It prepared to charge, its mace resting on its shoulder, ready to bash toward Claire. She stopped firing her arrows, standing straight without any intention to move away from the creature or attack further, her confident smile unwavering.
"Forget about something?" Claire asked with a smirk.
Suddenly, a sword's edge pierced from the inside of the creature's chest. It looked down in shock at the blade before slowly stumbling down with a slight thud, revealing Kazuki behind it. He pulled his sword from the creature's back as it slowly faded, his face still devoid of emotion. Claire punched the air with the fist holding her bow, celebrating their accomplishment in taking down the creature. However, she quickly noticed Kazuki's emotionless expression, feeling nervous and awkward once again.
"H-hey... Thanks for the b-back up," Claire complimented him with a nervous smile.
He did not respond as he slid his sword back into its scabbard and walked past her with a blank look on his face. Claire's eyes widened in realization—no acknowledgment of what she did, not even a glance or a word. She felt somewhat annoyed, taking his quiet attitude as a direct insult, as if he were mocking her or thinking she deserved it. It was like being stabbed in the heart, like the Kurutor, but somehow it felt worse.
"Hmph... Rude," Claire mumbled to herself.
She turned around from where they had defeated the Kurutor, looking at Kazuki, who continued to walk forward. His posture remained the same: straight body, hands at his sides, head facing forward without any movements, unlike how any student or human for that matter would act.
"Is he a robot or something?" Claire pondered in her thoughts.
Claire shook her head vigorously as she began to feel frustrated. Her eyebrows twitched as she held onto a strand of her hair tightly while the rest of her long sunflower hair waved in the wind. Her fist quaked in frustration, yet Kazuki barely reacted, walking forward composed with a straight posture. His black coat above his uniform waved in the wind as he moved ahead.
"Look, if you're not gonna talk to me, fine! You should've said so!" Claire blurted out as Kazuki continued to press forward, leaving her behind. "I'm fine on my own anyway! Do whatever you're going to do!"
Still, he never responded. Despite Claire's intentions to at least annoy him, Kazuki walked forward, leaving her behind. Her annoyance slowly faded, replaced by a feeling of guilt and loneliness. Both her hands pressed on her chest, and her head bobbed down slightly. She felt fatigued in her words; she couldn't walk forward to follow him, she couldn't continue to speak. Her body quaked with many unsaid words, yet Claire felt she needed to keep them that way.
Suddenly, Kazuki turned around with a serious look on his face, unsheathing his sword from behind, causing Claire to panic. She lifted her arms up, signaling him to hold on, palms wide, both facing forward, slightly spinning, thinking she had made him mad by blurting out. Then he stanced himself as if to throw his sword toward her, slightly bending back, his hand holding the blade of his sword, positioned equal to his head, elevating back.
"W-wait... What are you doing?!" Claire yelled frantically, panicking as she shook her hand in front. "Y-you can't be serious, right? Alright, I-I'm sorry!"
Without hesitation, Kazuki threw his sword toward her direction. Claire panicked, her head bobbing sideways, unable to comprehend the situation. She dodged his sword while glancing toward where he had thrown his blade. In her shock, it directly pierced through an Akumo behind her that was sneaking up on her. She fell to the ground in the process, still in shock and unable to comprehend the situation. Her hands held the sides of her head as she sat covered in dried fallen leaves throughout her yellow hair and body. She glanced at Kazuki in shock, back and forth between him and the fading Akumo, as he slowly approached the direction where he had thrown his blade, presumably to retrieve his sword instead of helping her as she had predicted. He slowly pulled out his sword as the creature faded, which annoyed her. She immediately glanced at him to voice her complaints.
"What the heck! You could've hit me!" Claire yelled. "You know how close that was? My head! Let me repeat! My head!"
He stopped next to her, glancing at her briefly with a dead stare before looking away and walking forward, sliding his sword back in the scabbard strapped behind him. Claire picked herself up from the ground and brushed off the leaves before stretching her fists downward away from her body, showing her annoyance as she pouted, yet preventing herself from speaking, knowing he'd just brush it off and ignore her.
Although amidst his tendency to seem not to care about her, she realized that he did save her—twice. He had turned around for her just to save her and even glanced at her momentarily despite his rude and cruel nature of not helping her up and staring at her emotionlessly. Her realization allowed her to follow him once more despite her annoyance, walking behind him as she pondered what was in his mind.
Meanwhile, in the same forest, Liene sat with her back against a tree, watching as Takumi fought off a pack of Zensukos—black shadow wolves with elongated limbs and sleek, sinewy bodies. He held off the entire pack alone while Liene observed with no intention of assisting.
One of the Zensukos growled deeply before charging at Takumi, its mouth wide open, revealing sharp teeth. Takumi subdues it by letting it bite onto the blade of his scythe before pushing it back. Surrounded by the pack, he glanced at Liene, who yawned as if mocking him for taking too long.
"You gonna help me or what?" Takumi asked, his annoyance growing.
"No... You seem to be doing just fine," Liene shrugged.
"Great help as usual," Takumi sarcastically commented.
He scanned his surroundings, planning his next move as the Zensukos growled continuously. One by one, they began to charge at him. Takumi slashed the first one downward, then spun his weapon above him to gain momentum, holding it with both hands. He quickly slashed the second charging Zensuko and noticed another behind him. Passing his scythe to his left hand, he slashed sideways, effortlessly spinning the blade before switching it to his right hand. He turned, taking out three Zensukos beside him with a left-slanted slash. The ones he struck dissipated into shadows, revealing their weakness despite their numbers and speed. He spun his blade several times vertically in his palm before stabbing it into the ground, confidently eyeing the remaining Akumos.
"Great show," Liene commented softly, clapping gently from where she sat against the tree.
Despite Liene's comments, Takumi brushed them off, focusing on the charging wolf-like Akumos, the Zensukos, as they rushed forward with immense speed, their claws tearing through the soil. Takumi smiled, using his scythe, still embedded in the ground, as support to lift himself upward, dodging the first Akumo. He used the gained momentum to kick the next charging Akumo, spinning in the air before landing and pulling his scythe from the ground. Surrounded, he performed his Stellar Skill, Whirling Crescent. He spun with his scythe, slashing two charging Zensukos, then crouched briefly and slashed upwards, piercing an Akumo and sending it flying.
Takumi stuck his scythe back into the ground, lifted himself into the air, and spun upside down, dodging the Zensukos leaping at him. He pulled his scythe and leaped, spinning in a whirlwind. One by one, he struck the charging Akumos, sending them back and making them dissipate into shadows. He took all of them out with a single move before landing, the back of his scythe resting on his shoulder as he glanced at the fading shadows as Liene stood up and approached him.
"Took you long enough," Liene commented. "Show off..."
"At least I did something. You were watching the whole time, doing absolutely nothing," Takumi retorted.
"My, my, aggressive... You know, if I were in your position, I would've finished faster, be it with less flashy moves," Liene shrugged with a teasing smile.
"Easier said than done, lazy woman," Takumi rebutted.
"Heh... puke boy," Liene snickered.
As Takumi was about to retort, they heard leaves rustling amid their bickering. They quickly stopped, Takumi lifting his scythe from his shoulder and assuming a stance, left arm holding the scythe slightly elevated backward, right hand in front with his palm stretched out. Liene slowly pulled out her Kyoketsu-Shoge. Both backed away from the direction of the sound, preparing for an attack. Takumi stepped on a branch, causing a slight sound. Liene glanced at him.
"Shh... Quiet," Liene whispered.
"You be quiet," Takumi retorted.
The rustling leaves grew louder as Takumi and Liene momentarily halted their bickering, nodding to each other in agreement to work together against whatever was behind the rustling leaves. They braced themselves, weapons at the ready. Suddenly, Kazuki emerged from the bushes, his head down. He glanced up to see Takumi and Liene staring back in shock, expecting an Akumo or a hostile student ready to battle, but instead seeing a black-haired student with a hint of minor confusion on his usual dead stare.
"You're not picking a fight, are you?" Takumi asked, lowering his guard in confusion.
Claire soon followed, emerging from the bush. She momentarily got stuck by a branch, kicked it, and almost fell but regained her footing, standing slightly behind Kazuki. Takumi recognized her and lowered his guard completely.
"Oh hey, it's you!" Takumi said.
"Yeah, I guess it is..." Claire responded.
"You with him?" Takumi asked, nodding towards Kazuki.
Claire glanced at Kazuki, seeing his face slightly from her position a couple of meters behind him, then nodded with slight hesitation.
"Uh, I guess so..." Claire said, unsure.
"Right..." Takumi responded, still confused.
Liene calmly glanced back and forth between Claire and Takumi as they seemed to know each other. She placed her blade back beside her waist, observing Kazuki's silent, unmoving stance, confused by his behavior.
"Hey boy, you gonna say something or what?" Liene asked Kazuki in a soft tone.
Like with Claire, he did not respond. Before they could continue their conversation, Kazuki glanced to his left with a serious look on his face and immediately reached for the gray hilt of his sword. He quickly unsheathed it upward. Takumi, Claire, and Liene finally noticed a large black Akumo resembling an eagle swooping toward Kazuki at incredible speed. Kazuki parried the sudden attack just in time, gripping the handle with his left hand and bracing the blade's middle fuller with his right. He was sent skidding across the grassy ground, several meters away from the others. They watched in shock as he kept his footing, still parrying the attack. Claire immediately rushed forward to aid him, reaching for an arrow in her quiver, while Takumi followed with his scythe in hand. Liene slowly walked forward, spinning her Kyoketsu-Shoge by its string as she observed the creature. It was a large black bird resembling a giant eagle. Its wingspan stretched over twenty feet, and its feathers were a deep obsidian that absorbed light, making it appear as a shadow against the sky. Its eyes glowed menacingly red, and its beak and talons were razor-sharp, capable of cutting through even the toughest materials.
"Kazuki!" Claire yelled while running.
"Oh goddamn it..." Takumi muttered, following close behind.
Kazuki glanced at Claire momentarily as she called out his name but quickly refocused on the Akumo in front of him, which rammed its head toward him. He pushed back to gain his footing. Claire quickly halted, swiftly drew an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, and released it towards the creature. The arrow struck the creature's wing, causing it to screech in pain. Takumi rushed forward, leaving Claire as she slightly crouched, covering her ears from the loud screeching. His left hand held his scythe while his right hand was positioned in front.
Seizing the opportunity, Kazuki leaped onto the eagle-like creature's back, stabbing his sword into it. The creature screeched again and flew upward, spinning and flapping its wings vigorously. Kazuki struggled to hold on, his sword slipping out of the creature's body. He grabbed several of its black feathers with his left hand while holding the hilt of his sword with his right. Takumi stopped below, shielding his face from the gusts of wind created by the creature's wings. Despite the creature's screeching, he stood unfazed. Kazuki noticed that the creature's feathers felt somewhat sharp, but his black gloves and coat shielded him from their edges. He glanced at them with an emotionless expression, clearly unfazed.
As the Akumo spun, it spotted Claire in the distance, causing its red eyes to glow menacingly. It momentarily halted, pointed its head upward, and screeched as it began to swoop towards Claire. She watched in shock, flinching, while Takumi, realizing the situation, immediately began running back.
"Oh shit!" Takumi exclaimed.
Kazuki glanced towards Claire, who stood frozen while Takumi frantically waved his arms above his head, warning her to run. His attempts at yelling sounded blurry to her as her vision became fuzzy. Without any other choice, Kazuki pushed his hand forward, stabbing his sword into the creature before kicking it, causing it to swoop upward and narrowly miss Claire. She felt a sudden jolt of movement, her body twitching as she glanced up, finally snapping out of her shock. She watched as the creature circled around her, then began swooping towards her again. Kazuki remained on the creature's back, holding on despite its violent movements, his hair and coat waving vigorously.
"Move!" Kazuki finally yelled.
Claire's eyes widened, realizing that for the first time, she heard his voice. Although it wasn't what she expected, it was enough to snap her back to reality. She rolled away from the Akumo's path, drawing her bow and shooting at the creature's leg, causing it to swoop up and screech in pain, enough to sway the forest leaves.
"Gotcha!" Claire yelled in triumph.
Her victory was short-lived, however, as she rolled towards a tree, ending her escape. She found herself upside down with her back against the tree, her arms stretched out as her arrows fell from her quiver. Despite her awkward position, her eyes widened as she watched Kazuki struggling to stay on the Akumo. She quickly picked herself up, crouching as she gathered her arrows to assist him.
Meanwhile, the creature shifted its target to Takumi and swooped down towards him. As it neared, Liene threw the blade of her Kyoketsu-Shoge onto Takumi's scythe as he ran. Its string wrapped around the scythe, and Liene pulled him back, off the creature's line of attack. Takumi crashed into a tree, leaves falling as he slid down the trunk, landing on the grassy floor. An acorn fell onto his head, adding to his painful save. He watched as the creature flew around, flapping vigorously, spinning in an attempt to shake Kazuki off its back.
"Could you at least not make me crash into a tree?" Takumi said, scratching his head, his eyes barely open in pain and frustration.
"Oh? You complaining after the lady saved you?" Liene responded with a soft tease.
"Saved me? You might as well have killed me," Takumi replied in frustration, his eyes wide with annoyance.
"Really now? Well, I guess I'll just have to throw you back," Liene responded, her tone soft yet frustrated.
"Would you two calm down? We're in the middle of a situation right now! A very dire situation, really dire, like extremely dire!" Claire yelled as she rushed towards the two, halting their bickering. She pointed towards the berserk creature above them.
Above them, the creature tried to swoop towards the trio once more, but Kazuki halted its attempt by slashing its back twice. The creature looked behind it to see him with an emotionless expression. It screeched loudly, its eyes glowing bright red as it then whirled with great strength, causing Kazuki to lose his grip on its feathers. He was sent flying, leaving Claire, Liene, and Takumi by themselves as the creature hovered in the air, preparing to strike.
"Kazuki!" Claire yelled in terror.
The creature dived towards them, leaving the three with no choice but to run from its wrath. Despite their efforts, they couldn't shake the relentless pursuit of the Akumo.
"Does anyone know what the hell that is?" Takumi frantically asked while running.
"No idea, but that thing is strong. Look at how far it threw that boy..." Liene expressed in a soft but frantic tone.
Grabbing onto Liene, Takumi leaped to the left while Claire leaped to her right, narrowly avoiding the creature's attack. They stumbled on the ground as the Akumo began to spin around, suddenly spraying its sharp black feathers in all directions. Claire immediately bent backward, narrowly dodging the flurry of sharp feathers that grazed her hair. At the same time, Takumi stood up in front of Liene, who sat on the ground after leaping sideways, blocking the attack with the large blade of his scythe. Some feathers pierced through his clothes, causing minor scratches on his arm, but he stood his ground, huffing due to his wounds. Liene, watching in shock from behind, looked at her with a confident smile.
"Now we're even!" Takumi said confidently, despite his wounds.
"But you're..." Liene tried to point out with a terrified tone.
"Forget that, we need to take down this thing!" Takumi yelled with a confident tone as he glanced forward.
After spraying its sharp feathers, the creature flew upward before turning back towards them, flapping its wings fiercely and causing strong gusts of wind. Takumi glanced at it, unfazed, while Liene briefly snickered at his tendency to show off. She stood up, holding the string of her blade to block the wind, their clothes and hair waving wildly. The large black hawk hovered in the air, glaring at the trio with its glowing red eyes before quickly diving towards them at incredible speed, its wings spread out and eyes locked onto them.
"Spread out!" Claire yelled.
Liene and Takumi nodded in agreement and spread out in different directions. The creature zoomed towards Claire first, but she planted her right hand on the ground and launched herself backward, narrowly evading the Akumo's attack with a high flip. It then targeted Takumi, who immediately lay down, causing the creature to fly over him, narrowly missing as he lay beneath it, grabbing a device from his belt and sticking it on its tail. The Akumo sprayed its sharp feathers towards Liene, who threw the hook of her kyoketsu-shoge onto a branch, swinging to dodge the flurry of feathers that pierced through the trees. She landed and watched as the creature hovered in the air, preparing to strike again. Takumi stood up, took out his detonator, and pressed the red button, causing the device on the creature's tail to explode.
"Gotcha!" Takumi said confidently.
The three watched as the creature hovered in confusion due to the explosion, not majorly affected but momentarily stalled. They glanced at each other, taking a brief moment to breathe after dodging its relentless assaults.
"We can't keep dodging this thing," Takumi said, catching his breath, his hands on his knees. "Anyone got any ideas?"
"I guess we could agree on something, boy... but I'm all out of ideas," Liene said, also catching her breath. "You, girl with the yellow hair, have anything in mind?"
Claire's eyes widened as she glanced at Liene and Takumi, who looked at her with expectant defiance, waiting for her answer. She looked at the hovering creature, her mind fuzzy, unable to speak as she stood in terror in front of Takumi and Liene.
"What do I do? What do I do? I can't think of a plan... I'm useless..." Claire thought.
Takumi slowly approached her, trying to calm her down as she seemed to panic, her body trembling. Liene, slightly worried, stood slightly behind Takumi, glancing between Claire and the creature above.
"Hey... N-no worries if you don't have a plan, you k-know..." Takumi said, struggling to quell her terror.
"Uh, we should probably move. That thing will swoop down on us at any moment," Liene said softly, glancing at the hovering creature. "Boy, take her, we're gonna make a run for it."
"Huh? Why me?" Takumi asked.
"Because I said so," Liene retorted calmly. "All we have here are trees, your metal things, the girl with the yellow hair, and my Kyoketsu-Shoge. If there's no plan, we should at least move."
"Geez, you make it sound like my devices are useless. But you have a point. Claire, let's go. That thing is really gonna swoop in at any moment," Takumi said, pointing at the creature above.
"Wait... you said trees, right?" Claire muttered.
"No, I said we should move," Takumi replied, confused.
"No, not you. I'm talking about her... Hmm..." Claire pondered.
"You got a plan now?" Liene asked calmly. "Because we really need one."
Claire glanced at the black hawk-like creature above them, circling menacingly as it prepared to strike. She pondered for a moment, stroking her chin, her head slightly bowed. Her eyes darted to Takumi's scythe, his devices, and Liene's Kyoketsu-Shoge. She reached for her arrows, scanning the forest filled with an abundance of trees.
"Yeah, I might something in mind..." Claire said with a smile.
Meanwhile, back at where they started, on the elevated hill, Isaac stood near the edge, watching the situation unfold on his device. Claire, Liene, and Takumi were engaged with the large hawk-like Akumo, and he anticipated their next move with a smirk. Ann stood slightly behind him, holding a similar device in her hands, glancing towards Isaac with evident concern for the students' safety.
"That creature certainly wasn't meant to be there. Are you sure we shouldn't intervene? That creature, that Kurotaka, may pose a significant threat to these students..." Ann inquired, her tone slightly frantic.
"No, they should be fine. Whoever summoned that creature possesses great power. I want to see if our students can match that power," Isaac responded calmly, brushing off the seemingly dangerous situation.
"If you say so, sir..." Ann replied, hesitantly accepting his claim.
"Just remember, the world these students will soon explore is far more perilous. You and I both know that," Isaac spoke with sincerity.