Risa addressed the crowd according to costume, "You will enter the forest-maze behind me, where you'll encounter stage 3 profound beasts and a circle 2 Tama that creates illusions, hiding traps, and even your allies, together with hallucinations! A true samurai must possess the mental strength to overcome this challenge or have the right Tama to block it."
The crowd grew anxious, but Risa's smirk reassured them, "Don't worry; passing the maze means you'll become part of the Katsuragi-Han clan."
Although they would only receive guard duty, the monthly income of 200 Kojin lifted their spirits.
Risa concluded, "Good luck, samurai of tomorrow!"
Risa used her Tama to float away from the Tori gates, her gaze locking onto Lucy, 'Red hair? He must be from the main family, but why haven't I met him before? Could he have dyed his hair red? No, it doesn't matter.'
Risa shrugged, directing her body into the forest maze and activating her Tama, an eerie mist enveloping the area.
The samurai followed Risa's lead with a resounding battle cry, leaving Lucy and Tsukino walking slowly up the Tori gates.
Tsukino broke the silence, frowning. "Boss, why are we wasting time? Why not just kill those men now? They're useless anyway."
Lucy kept his gaze fixed on the misty forest. "We'd waste our Rei on useless people. I'll launch a full-scale attack once I see the manor gates, while you duel my uncle... that's what you came here for, isn't it?"
Tsukino looked down, shame visible in her gray eyes. She gritted her teeth in frustration, thinking, 'He knew all along, yet he was shameless enough to ask me to read for him all this time! How shameless can he be!?'
Tsukino sighed, and silence fell between them once more.
After a few seconds, she broke the silence, asking, "We spent last year killing profound beasts. Now, being forced to fight them again, I couldn't help but think about our first year together."
Lucy's response was cold and detached, "We're not being forced. We'll just kill whoever gets in our way."
Tsukino nodded in agreement. This was the most efficient way to handle the situation, avoiding unnecessary waste of time, effort, and Rei on things beneath them.
Before they could enter the fog, Tsukino's eyes narrowed, her hand taking Lucy's hand.
"Hey, wait... there's something off about this fog."
Lucy turned to her, curiosity flickering in his amber eyes.
Tsukino explained thoughtfully, "We girls are very attentive to scents. Although this might sound weird, there's a faint, unusual scent in the fog. Logically, fog is like water; it should have no scent."
Lucy tried to detect the scent, and indeed, there was something peculiar about the fog. He considered attributing it to the 2 circle Tama but decided to act with caution.
Lucy entered Yurei's primordial space, where he found the trio playing Hanafuda cards.
He approached Sora, who had a cigarette tucked into her mouth, lifted her the collar, and ordered;
"Teleport everyone to the selection forest of the Katsuragi-Han clan."
Sora blinked, taken aback by Lucy's sudden appearance, as were Mikino and Shoji. Before she could ask why he gave such an order, Lucy vanished, leaving Sora glaring at the others.
She sighed in thought, 'What a shame I won't make it to the tobacco field.'
She cleared her thoughts and said coldly, "Playtime is over."
Makino and Shoji nodded, exiting the primordial space with Sora. A diamond phoenix-shaped Tama began absorbing Sora's white Rei, and the silver-haired girl jumped, touching the others while airborne, teleporting to a location within her line of sight.
Since Hakuren district was on the opposite side of X-You Mountain, Sora ended up sitting on Shoji's shoulder. After a few attempts, they finally arrived at the spot where Lucy and Tsukino were standing.
Sora walked up to Lucy, lighting a cigarette.
"Why did you suddenly call us here? Are we launching our first group attack?"
Lucy's gaze swept past Sora, landing on Mikino, who blushed at the attention. Her newly shaved head reflected the sun, but Lucy didn't react.
His gaze shifted to Shoji, but following the law of Yurei, he remained silent.
Tsukino intervened, "Danasama, please activate your kyodaina Kizuna."
Shoji complied, and a light-red phoenix Tama began absorbing his Rei. Before he could ask what was happening, Lucy and Tsukino grabbed him and threw him into the foggy forest.
Shoji crashed against a tree with a loud wham, breaking it. His red eyes locked onto Lucy and Tsukino, who had thrown him without hesitation.
And, he quickly understood the situation.
Crossing his arms, Shoji leaned against another tree branch. However, his nose soon began dripping blood, and his brows curled up in concern.
"What is going—"
He didn't finish his sentence, as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The next second, he knelt on the ground, more blood flowing from his apertures.
Though he couldn't feel the pain, his life was preserved by the effects of his kyodai Kizuna, which recovered his injured insides.
A silver rope pulled Shoji out of his misery, tying it around his neck and dragging him outside the foggy forest. Seeing him cough up blood, Lucy released the rope, focusing on Sora and Mikino.
"With how the Katsuragi clan cares for reputation it wouldn't let one of its branch clan commit to such a deed without a good reason, you two go find out why."
Sora and Mikino didn't refuse the order. Sora could communicate with anything that could fly, while Mikino could talk to anything that lived in water.
Gathering information was the duo's specialty.
As Sora and Mikino teleported away, Tsukino untied the silver rope from Shoji's neck as Lucy asked him coldly, "You haven't used the Akiraka Tama yet?"
Shoji didn't respond, focusing on coughing up blood to remove the poison from his system. He recovered using his kyodaina Kizuna Tama.
After a few minutes, he finally replied, "Why would I? My Tama already makes me invisible. Such things don't suit my style."
Tsukino sighed, seeing the smile on Shoji's face. She wondered why she had never told him about the Akiraka Tama before, finding his naivety almost amusing.
Lucy, however, focused his gaze on the foggy forest, his voice laced with disdain, "The samurai used the Akiraka Tama and their Rei protected them from the poison's effects for a short time. You, on the other hand, didn't last a minute."
His gaze shifted to Shoji, who was getting up from the ground.
"I'll show you something interesting. Come at me with everything you've got."
Shoji raised an eyebrow, surprised by Lucy's sudden challenge.
'Is Lucy-senpai trying to prove how useful the Akiraka Tama is?'
Shoji wanted to refuse, but memories of their last encounter, where Lucy had ignored him, sparked a burning desire to finally engage in a proper fight.