Chapter 43: Countdown to the Auction

"Two days!" Rei shouted, her eyes wide.

"That's quicker than I thought..." Azar muttered, his voice tense.

Taro clenched his fists. "So what are we going to do?"

The Spiritual King, seated calmly behind his large wooden desk, answered, "For now... you will all get rest."

Zanden shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't rest like this."

"I know it's hard and all..." the Spiritual King said gently. "But your strength won't return without rest."

Azar turned to him. "Have you told the father yet?"

"Not yet," the King replied. "But I'll give him a call once you all leave my office."

Okata stepped forward, adjusting his glasses. "Alright, listen up. Leave the office, get some rest, and be ready to kick ass in two days."

Azar clenched his fist. "You bet we're going to."

The Spiritual King nodded once. "Now, if you'll excuse me... can you all please leave my office?"

One by one, the students and Yuna stepped out, quietly moving downstairs and through the academy gate.

Outside—

"Can you believe that?" Azar asked, still fuming. "Just two days..."

Ryju's expression was focused. "I know. We need to hurry up and get stronger."

"No kidding," Kenshiro added.

"I'm heading home," Yuna said. "You all get there safe."

"—You bet!" Team 17 responded in unison.

Azar looked down, a new fire lighting his eyes. "...No, but seriously—yeah. We have to get stronger. We're going to save Misa."

Back inside the Spiritual King's Office...

The Spiritual King picked up the phone and began dialing. It rang twice, then clicked.

"Hello?" came the tired voice on the other end.

"Hey, Mr. Gio. It's me—the Spiritual King."

Gio sat in his dark room, tears in his eyes, holding pictures of Misa. "Did you get any good news for Misa...?"

"The auction starts in two days."

Gio froze. "Today's Monday... so that means... Wednesday?"

"Yep."

"...What?! No! No—my baby's going to get sold!" His voice cracked as he burst into louder sobs.

"Calm down."

"Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down?!"

"We're going to get her back. You remember what I said."

Gio couldn't respond—only sobs filled the line. Then, he hung up.

He slammed the phone down and collapsed to his knees, choking on his tears.

"I can't even save my own daughter... because I'm powerless. What kind of dad lets their daughter get kidnapped? What kind of father am I?! I should just... I should just—!"

He screamed into the silence.

Meanwhile...

Azar stood in front of a mirror, staring at his reflection.

"Misa... don't worry. We will come for you. And we'll bring you home."

The Next Day

The morning sun rose.

Students rolled out of bed, washed up, and dressed.

Team 1 gathered outside.

"I wonder what kind of training we're doing today," Rei said.

"I'm training with my brother," Ryju answered.

"Oh yeah—how's the eye thing going?" Kenshiro asked.

Ryju sighed. "It's... hard."

"You'll get through it," Taro said, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

Outside the Ninja Academy

Team 8 and their sensei stepped through the gate.

"Hey, look—it's Team 8!" Shun grinned. "What's your first mission?"

Uzuki frowned. "We get it, you have a cool mission."

Shun chuckled. "Oh, I know we do."

Ryju stepped up. "After my first mission... let's fight, Uzuki."

Uzuki unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Ryju's face. "I'll destroy you."

Ryju smirked.

"What's your mission?" Goro asked, curious.

"Escort mission," Takao replied. "Now, if you don't mind—we have to go."

With that, Team 8 vanished.

Moments Later — Team 17 Approaches Team 1

"Sup, guys," Taro greeted.

"Oh, what's up," Goro nodded.

Team 17 finally arrived at the main group.

"Hey, how you guys doing?" Azar asked.

"Great," Ryju said.

Rei turned red. "H-hey Jett..." she said, flustered.

"Hey," Jett replied coolly.

He's so cute, Rei thought, heart fluttering.

Inside the Spiritual King's Office

The Spiritual King sat behind his desk. Okata, arms crossed, adjusted his glasses with a scowl. Kaji lit a cigarette, smoke curling into the air.

"What took you so long?" Kaji asked. "We've got training. I hope you didn't forget that the auction is tomorrow."

Azar nodded seriously. "I know."

Just then, Renji and Kurosaki stepped forward.

"Ryju, you'll be training with your brother," the Spiritual King announced. "Kurosaki, join them."

The two boys nodded.

"Where's Kuroyami?" Ryju asked.

Rei looked around. "Yeah... now that I think about it, where is he?"

Goro frowned. "He hasn't been around lately."

Should I tell them...? the Spiritual King thought.

"He's dealing with family problems," Kurosaki said, stepping in. "He won't be around for a while."

Good job, the King thought.

Kurosaki looked at him and gave a small smile—then vanished.

Ryju jumped out the window.

"What do we do now?" Kenshiro asked.

"You're training with me," Kaji said, cigarette between his lips.

"So that's why Sensei Yuna isn't here," Taro said.

"Meet me in the training field," Kaji said as he vanished.

The students followed, jumping out the window one by one.

Back in the Office

"I see so much potential in them," Okata muttered.

The Spiritual King nodded. "I know."

At the Training Field

"I like big open fields," Kaji said with a grin, standing in the center.

Everyone surrounded him.

"So what's the training?" Azar asked.

Kaji took one last drag from his cigarette before flicking it away. "Land a hit on me."

All of them immediately powered up.

Kaji smirked.

To Be Continued...