What It Means

Kurashi stood a few paces away from the team, casually leaning his shoulder against a nearby tree. His eyes began to close, seeming to focus on something in the distance, something no one else could see. While his body had remained still, his right hand drifted to the hilt of his blade, his fingers now hovering over the handle.

After patiently holding his position, sharp and sudden, a whistle screeched through the air.

In that instant, something inside Kurashi shifted. His eyes snapped open as he unsheathed the katana from his back, the suddenness of his movements catching the rest of his team off guard.

"Hey! Where the hell do you-", the leader shouted out, stopping himself as he watched Kurashi disappear into the rainfall.

The team stood frozen for a moment, staring at the tree where Kurashi once stood.

"Unbelievable! Why does he think he can just do whatever he wants to?", the leader questioned to the rest of the team, "Does he not know this is a team exercise"?

"You know...for someone who insisted we leave him behind, you sure seem upset he didn't stick around.", one of the girls stated her arms crossed, tilting her head as she looked at the leader.

"I'm not upset, nowhere near it!", the leader stiffened up as he responded, "It's just that if we actually want to get better from this, we need to learn how to work as a team and strategize properly".

"Right...And you thought abandoning him was the way to promote teamwork?", the other girl questioned with her eyebrow raised.

The leader opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out. His pride had already been bruised by Kurashi's sudden departure, and adding the questioning from the girls on top did not help. The rest of the team fell silent soon after, letting the leader's own hypocrisy engulf him.

Now alone deep in the forest, Kurashi blurred into the world of black and grey. His footsteps were light, and his body was perfectly attuned to the rhythm of the raging storm. Raindrops fell against his skin, and wind whipped past his ears like a steady hum, but none of it slowed him down. If anything, it seemed like these elements pushed him into an even deeper state of razor-sharp focus.

This was no longer training, but rather a hunt. His eyes scanned the forest ahead, cutting through the shifting mist and rain, and that is when he found his prey.

It was a team no more than 30 meters ahead, huddled together beneath a wide canopy of trees. Their postures were too relaxed, oblivious to the danger that was seeking them. They spoke in low murmurs, their voices lost in the sound of the rain. Kurashi did not hesitate, as there was no studder nor confusion in his steps. He moved like a phantom, each step he took more silent than the last.

In one swift movement, Kurashi closed the gap between him and the team. Now in range to attack, his blade flashed in the rain as he initiated battle. The first strike was precise, a horizontal slash across the chest of the closest target. The injured boy didn't have time to cry out before the impact sent him to the ground, the rain instantly washing away the blood that pooled beneath him.

The others from the team froze , their faces twisted with shock and confusion as their teammate fell before them. One of them, a tall girl with stunned eyes, barely managed to turn in the direction of Kurashi before he was on her. He swung his blade in an upward arc, the girl barely escaping the deadly slash by leaning back just in time. With the girl now off balance, Kurashi tightly grabbed her wrist, before sending a powerful sidekick to her abdomen that sent her flying backwards into a tree. She hit the trunk with great impact and slumped to the ground, her eyes closing as she fell unconscious.

The remaining three members scrambled to react, as escaping was no longer an option. Now all attacking him at the same time, they hoped to take him down with the number advantage.

Kurashi ducked low, dodging a wild punch from one of the boys, and countered with a quick slash to the leg, bringing the boy down in a pained cry. Without pausing, Kurashi quickly turned around, parrying an attack from the next boy who had tried to flank him. Their eyes locked for moment, one filled with desperation, and the other filled with icy calm. Kurashi side-stepped the boy's clumsy thrust with ease, sending the back of his katana's handle into the boys ribcage, breaking them on impact. The boy gasped at the loss of air and collapsed to his knees, clutching his side where the impact landed.

Kurashi pivoted again, the movements seamless, as the last member, a younger girl with trembling hands, stared at him in fear. His eyes locked onto the girl, dark and unblinking.

"I-I surrender...I surrender!", the girl pleaded as she slowly back up, keeping her eyes on Kurashi to see if would make a move.

Though his prey was right in front of him, something in the distance caught his attention. With his eyes now off of her, the girl turned around and sprinted away, too afraid to even glance back.

Kurashi stood still for a moment, soaking under the rainfall. With his katana still drawn, the falling rain began to wash away the sins of his blade. Around him, the fallen bodies of his opponents lay scattered, some still groaning in pain, other motionless.

He sheathed his blade onto his back, and turned away from the defeated team without a second glance. Surveying the landscape once more, his focus was now already on his next target. Without another second to lose, he vanished back into the rain.