Takahiro (2)

Our seniors had come to fetch us from the village. The journey back to base was silent. No words, no reassurances—just the steady beating of dragon wings cutting through the sky. The air was heavy with exhaustion, and I could still smell the faint traces of smoke and blood clinging to my clothes.

As soon as we landed at the base, we were made to kneel on the cold floor. No explanations. No orders. Just silence.

Truth's group sat by the bar, drinking. Their usual rowdiness was absent; instead, they watched us with pity and unease. Even Truth, usually a smirking presence, looked uncomfortable. Our captain, seated among them, continued drinking without even sparing us a glance. That was worrying. No, terrifying.

I shifted, my unease growing. The atmosphere was thick, suffocating. Something was off.

"Hey, tell me, what did we do now?" Kenji whispered, his voice unusually cautious.

"I wonder?" Yushiro muttered back, equally quiet.

Truth, our knight senior, clasped his hands together and bowed his head slightly.

"Please try to endure," he said.

"Huh?"

What? Why? Endure what exactly?

Before I could question him further, the base doors slammed open with an echoing BANG.

Blinding sunlight poured in, casting long, ominous shadows across the room. A tall woman strode in, her blonde hair tied into twin pigtails swaying with each step. She wore the same knight uniform as us, but her presence carried a weight—a suffocating intensity that made my muscles tense instinctively.

Three figures followed close behind her. On her left, a man whose shaggy hair fell over his face, obscuring his features. On her right, a plain-looking guy so unremarkable you might miss him in a crowd. And behind them, a hooded figure, their face completely hidden in the shadows of their cloak.

The blonde woman stopped in front of us, her piercing gaze sweeping over us like a blade. Kenji, never one to back down, glared right back.

"Hey, Truth! Are these our idiot juniors with guts?!" she barked, her voice sharp and commanding.

Truth sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah… these are our 'idiot juniors'."

The woman grinned, flashing a thumbs-up. "You guys have guts. Good job."

The three behind her nodded in agreement.

Huh? What? That's it? What was all the tension for?

Before I could process it, CRACK!

A foot slammed into Kenji's face. His body twisted midair before he crashed onto the floor several feet away.

Yushiro and I jumped up, instincts kicking in. My hand shot to my waist—only to grab empty air.

Ah. Right. We left our weapons at the entrance.

Before I could react, the woman spun with terrifying speed. A roundhouse kick slammed into my side, sending me staggering back. The force of it was unreal—like getting struck by a boulder. Yushiro retaliated immediately, launching a precise palm strike toward her chest.

She caught his wrist.

In one fluid motion, she twisted his arm over his head, yanked him forward, and drove a fist straight into his gut.

WHAM!

Yushiro coughed violently, his body doubling over in pain. She grabbed his hair, lifting him like he was weightless, and hurled him across the room. He crashed into the wall with a dull THUD, leaving a crack in the wood before collapsing to the ground.

Kenji groaned, pushing himself up, blood dripping from his broken nose. But the woman was relentless—before he could even steady himself, she surged forward, her knee slamming into his face.

CRACK!

Punches rained down on him—left, right, left, right. His body jerked under each impact before finally crumbling to the floor, unmoving.

I staggered to my feet, panting, and glanced at our seniors. None of them moved to intervene. They weren't even looking at us. Some turned away, some took long sips of their drinks, pretending not to see.

Is this normal? Are we being punished again?

I flicked my gaze to Yushiro. Blood dripped down his forehead, trailing over his cheek. He wasn't angry. He wasn't annoyed.

He was grinning.

…Is he okay? Or did he lose something in his head?

I exhaled sharply, locking eyes with him. A single nod.

He nodded back.

We channeled Hashi to our limbs, the energy crackling faintly beneath our skin. No weapons. No choice but to fight with what we had.

We charged.

Way of Nature Technique, Unarmed Form: Hundred Strike Downpour.

I threw a flurry of punches, each strike aiming for a weak point. She blocked and parried, but some landed. She was fast, but this was a distraction—Yushiro was already behind her.

Way of Nature Technique, Unarmed Form: Mountain-Splitting Wave.

Yushiro's leg shot down in a brutal axe-kick, slicing through the air like a falling blade.

But just as it was about to connect—

She spun. Her fist smashed into my face, twisting my vision. In the same movement, she caught Yushiro's leg mid-air.

With a casual flick of her wrist, she hurled him into the wall.

I stumbled, blood dripping from my nose, and looked up at her.

She grinned, satisfied. Then her smile faded.

"But are you bastards crazy?! Going into danger without telling any of us!?" she roared. "Don't you know that for Division Knights, communication is key?! And no matter what—never disobey orders!"

She turned to Truth, her anger still burning. "Hey, Truth. Didn't you tell them they should take missions from the mission board?"

Truth sighed. "You guys should be disappointed."

I just want to cry now.

Kenji groaned, pushing himself up, wincing as he touched his broken nose. Yushiro and I walked over to him, feeling equally bruised and defeated.

The woman folded her arms, glaring at us. "You guys are weaklings. Disappointing. You can't even use Hashi Armor yet!"

Kenji scowled. "Damn you, what even is Hashi Armor?"

The woman's eye twitched. "Huh? Are you trying to act dumb?"

"Why the hell would I act dumb?!" Kenji snapped.

The woman exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Because I told you I'd test our new rookies the moment I arrived."

Kenji blinked. "Our rookies? Who the hell are you?"

Her blonde eyebrow twitched again. "My name is Stone. Leader of Team 4, Division 4. And your senior."

She crossed her arms, her tone final.

Kenji and I exchanged a look, our shock mirroring each other. Yushiro, meanwhile, just grinned.

…Did he know? Or is he just enjoying this too much?

Kenji snapped out of his daze first. "I'm Kenji Kimura," he said, begrudgingly introducing himself.

Stone scoffed. "I don't care who you are!"

I flinched back.

Yushiro stepped forward, still grinning like a fox. "Hey, Blade. I think we passed, right?"