By the time Luca had gotten into that fight and felt deeply exhausted, he confronted Tsumugi with determination.
Luca asked, "So, please teach me."
Tsumugi answered with a pensive face, "I have an idea about your mistakes, but I need more time to observe. Let's start tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Luca asked, trying to conceal the hint of impatience in his voice. "Why not today?"
Tsumugi burst into a chuckle as she spread out her arms. "Kid, I've flown several hours; I gotta rest. I got to sleep."
"Sleep? The night's still so far away," grumbled Luca.
Tsumugi entered the house, waving off his gripes. "I know."
The young boy, now farther from satisfaction, spoke up after her as she went in, "What am I supposed to do while waiting? At least tell me that much!"
She turned around for a second at the door. "Meanwhile, take a trip to the mountains and get me some leaves. You'll find them--they're like flowers with yellow in the middle."
Luca blinked, perplexed. "You want me to bring you a flower?"
Tsumugi nodded casually. "Exactly." And with that, she disappeared into the house, leaving Luca standing there, bewildered.
"Good enough," Luca muttered to himself, launching into the air off towards the mountains.
Far across the world, a Naxon-one that would be eerily familiar to Luca, as it was the very same one which had assaulted Luca's ship-carried Aiko, Leon, Lefn, and their squad towards the dark continent. The dark landscape opened before them and stretched weird, macabre shadows around them.
But in an instant, the Naxon froze in mid-air, releasing all of them suddenly. It hastily deflected an oncoming attack from an unknown attacker. In recognition, the Naxon snarled, "So, it is you."
There emerged a man throwing back his hood from his cloak. It was Kenji, the hero.
"It's me," Kenji replied. He placed a hypnotic lock on the Naxon and heaved it away violently. In the wink of an eye, he appeared before Aiko, Leon, Lefn, and their group.
"Head north from here. You'll find a large, mobile rock. Push it to your left and enter. Hurry!" Kenji ordered with speed.
Lefn and Aiko stuttered, "Wh-who are you?"
Kenji cut them off. "No time! Go!
When they were still hesitating, a portal just appeared in front of them. A Naxon emerged from it, filling the air with its dark presence. Kenji reacted fastest and, at blurring speed, pushed the Naxon back through the portal. The group made for an opportunity and headed north, following Kenji's instructions.
Shaking with fear, Aiko whispered, "We're going to die. This is the dark continent. We can't survive here."
Leon, attempting to remain calm, reassured her, "We'll be fine. Mei, use your invisibility on us."
Mei siphoned his power and made them invisible. Leon followed with, "This works, but the Naxons can still sense us, so be quiet and don't make any sudden movements."
Aiko and Lefn nodded, their nerves tightly wound, as they moved forward in a very cautious manner.
Back in the battlefield, Kenji and the Naxon had a very harsh hand-to-hand fight. Each punch, kick, and block was loudly heard raw in the air.
Then, Kenji performed a swift and quick movement that carried much power as he kicked the Naxon backward. A cloud of dust rose but from it came the Naxon at incredible speed, dashing towards Kenji. Just as Kenji was about to use his telekinesis, he felt the Naxon using a portal to appear right behind his back. The Naxon grabbed Kenji's head and slammed it into the ground, pressing down hard with the crushing force of his fingers.
"Is that all you got?" it said in this thick, menacing tone as the Naxon taunted him.
Kenji gritted his teeth and replied, "Not even close." A huge wave of energy shot out from Kenji's body, sending the Naxon flying.
Without hesitation, Kenji launched himself at the Naxon and punched it with all his might before jumping again in the same breath. Focusing his powers with his telekinesis, Kenji transferred his kinetic energy to his fist and punched in a burst of movement; the Naxon coughed out some blood as it was smashed into the ground.
Standing over the beaten Naxon, Kenji readied his strike again, but the Naxon managed to teleport away from the attack. Kenji quickly sensed where the portal was opened and jumped in front of it, striking the wounded Naxon down. He lifted the Naxon with inhuman strength and slammed his head into the ground, breaking open a large fissure in the ground.
"That feel good?" Kenji snarled, his voice chilled.
It snarled its teeth at him, releasing an ear-piercing roar that made Kenji wince in pain. The boy realized the roar wasn't just some desperate acting on the part of the Naxon. "That wasn't for me," he muttered.
Suddenly, Kenji felt the arrival of more Naxons-dozens of them. Kenji looked down at the Naxon below him and said quietly, "This isn't the last you'll see of me." He flew up and quickly flew northward with incredible speed to appear in his base in no time.
Kenji entered the hideout, where the people he had saved were resting. Aiko immediately approached him, with a look full of concern. "Is everything fine? Are you okay?"
Kenji then gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Not even a scratch."
Leon, commanding as ever, turned to Mao. "Heal him, boy. Now."
Mao stepped forward nervously. "Yes, sir," he said, and he began to heal Kenji.
Kenji nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."
Grateful, yet still shaken, Lefn said, "We should be thanking you."
Kenji spoke with gravitas, "It's the least I can do."
Aiko's curiosity never seemed to end as she asked again, "Wh.who are you?"
Kenji was silent for a moment before answering, "My name is Kenji. I'm a retired hero."
Leon's eyes widened. "Y.you're the hero Luca told him about!"
Kenji was taken aback; all expression fell from his face. "Wait, y.you know Luca? Tell me everything."
Aiko began, "We were on our way to go and see the fortune teller, and then we were ambushed by a Naxon, an extremely powerful one."
Kenji cut in, his eyes wandering somewhere else. "Speak with me about Luca."
Leon stood up from his chair, anger building up in his voice. "We don't know. I just remember being taken away, but the truth is, Luca couldn't save us."
Kenji stood, pacing in front of them as the weight of his guilt seemed to just crash down on him. "It's my fault. He wasn't ready. I failed again. Because of me, he might be dead."
Aiko instantly cut through the string of words as her voice lashed out firm but soft. "He is not dead. I promise you. There is no way Luca would go out that easily."
Lefn nodded in agreement with her. "Yes, I believe that too."
Leon crossed his arms and said, "We know even now that Luca is desperately trying to save us. We know he searches for a way."
The scene cuts to Luca searching in the mountains for the flower Tsumugi described. The sun had long since set, and the darkness closed in. Luca let out an angry sigh. "Where the heck is this damn flower? I've been searching for hours."
Finally, his eyes caught the flower that matched Tsumugi's explanation: a tender flower with a bright yellow center. Luca gathered the flowers and flew back home. Weary, he entered inside, going to the bedroom.
There, he saw a small cat sleeping on the edge of the bed. Luca softly chuckled. "That must be Tsumugi."
He carefully placed the flowers on the table and then told himself, "I need to rest up and sleep." Saying no more, he lay down in the bed and was soon sleeping, his body finally giving in to complete exhaustion.