Music for chapter: Incubus - I Miss You
Something was amiss with the morning. A hush lay over everything, the sky a dull gray, and the mist clung to their legs. The sun was hiding somewhere behind the clouds, and the whole town looked like it was sleeping off a hangover.
They walked through the empty streets in a line - Aullie, Sora, Haru, and Aki, all carrying duffel bags that felt heavier than they should have. Nobody was talking. What was there to say? Thanks for the break, now back to camp hell?
Brynn trailed behind them, wrapped up in that old shawl she'd had since Aullie was a kid, clutching a bento box like it might save the world.
"You know they sell food on trains, right, Mum?"
"And you'll still eat mine first," she said, shoving the box into his hands. "Made four. Don't think I haven't noticed how Sora stress-eats."
Sora's face went red. "That was…it happened once."
"Uh-huh. Sure it did."
Aki's arms flew wide. "Brynn, you're a real life goddess! Seriously, they should probably erect a monument in your honor."
"Save the flattery for your letters home. You better write, or I'm sending Shinku after you."
They all laughed, but it was weak. The kind of laugh you make when you're trying not to cry.
At the platform, Haru's grandmother held onto him like she was afraid he'd disappear if she let go. Aki had to physically wrestle her dog Bandit away from the train doors while her mom looked on, trying not to fall apart. Brynn gave Aullie that look, the one that saw right through him, and reached up to straighten his collar.
"Don't forget who you are out there. And don't let them turn you into something cold."
"I won't."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
The train pulled away with a sound like the world sighing. Aullie pressed his face to the window and watched everything shrink, the streets he'd walked a thousand times, the shrine where he'd made all those desperate wishes, the ramen shop that served the best tonkotsu in three prefectures. All of it swallowed up by fog and distance.
Sora dropped into the seat beside him. "You look like someone died."
"Feel like something did."
"Yeah." She was quiet for a moment, looking out. "But we carry the good stuff with us, don't we? It doesn't just vanish."
He wanted to believe that. He really did.
***
Coming back to Kirin was like walking into a meat grinder.
The place looked like it was gearing up for war. Fresh warding marks carved into every surface, glowing faintly under the weak morning light. Guards everywhere, moving in pairs, hands never far from their weapons. The courtyard was chaos. Students drilling like their lives depended on it, instructors screaming orders, summons flickering in and out of existence so fast it made your eyes hurt.
"Jesus," Aki muttered, hefting her pack higher. "What happened to this place?"
"Seems like it's not playing nice anymore," Haru said.
Mayu appeared out of nowhere, like she'd been waiting for them specifically. Her usual no-nonsense expression had upgraded to full-on granite.
"Welcome back. Hope you enjoyed your vacation."
"That bad, huh?" Aullie said.
"Another Demon incursion three days ago. Southern border. Small group, but they knew exactly where to hit and when. It's almost like someone's coordinating them now."
Sora's face went pale. "Anyone…?"
"No one died, but it was far too close. The instructors barely held them off."
"Shit."
"Yeah. Shit."
And that set the tone for everything.
The assembly that afternoon felt like a funeral. Everyone packed into the great hall, but instead of the usual chatter and scraping chairs, there was just... weight. Heavy, suffocating silence.
Headmaster Inoue stood at the center like a monument, his silver-trimmed robes catching the light in sharp angles. When he spoke, his voice cut through the quiet like a scalpel.
"Demon activity has tripled in the past month. These aren't random attacks anymore, they're coordinated. Our allies are breathing down our necks for results, and frankly, I don't blame them."
The projection screen behind him lit up with images: forest clearings torn apart, abandoned ruins that looked like bomb sites, training environments that looked designed to kill you.
"Starting Monday, you begin Squad Trials. No more individual assessments. No more hand-holding. You'll be evaluated as strike teams, combat effectiveness, tactical coordination, strategic thinking. The works."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. It was wasn't excitement, closer to fear.
"Fail," Inoue continued, "and you'll be reassigned to logistics. Or medical. Or if you're really unlucky, you'll be sent home with a nice certificate and our thanks for trying."
Inoue looked utterly fed up. "This isn't about being punished. It's about adapting. You either rise to it, or you're out. We're done dragging people along."
Aullie caught Sora's eye; she looked like she wanted to punch something. Haru's knuckles were white, his hands clenched tight, and Aki was practically vibrating with barely contained anger.
None of them were planning to fail.
But looking around the room at all the other pale, terrified faces, Aullie had a sinking feeling that failure might be a common occurrence for others.
The next week was a nightmare of smoke, sweat, and things exploding in their faces.
Aullie threw himself into training like he was trying to outrun something. Void and Darkness poured through him until his bones ached, Shinku flickering through the void like a knife through silk. Queenie prowled the edges of every fight, her darkness wrapping around him whenever things got too hot. They moved together now without thinking, three parts of the same weapon.
Sora had gotten scary good. Her blink-steps were so smooth you'd think it was teleportation, just Sora being in one place and then suddenly somewhere else entirely. Saki danced around her like liquid mercury, and when they really got going, it was like watching a storm with blades.
"Jesus, Sora," Aki panted after getting her ass handed to her in a sparring match. "Did you make a deal with the devil or something?"
"Just practicing," Sora said, but she was grinning.
Aki was no slouch either. She'd figured out how to use her flames like jet boosters, rocketing through obstacle courses while Martin cackled with pure joy. Watching her flip through the air and crack training dummies with a whip made entirely of fire was both terrifying and deeply satisfying.
Haru had gotten mean. His earth moved like it was sentient now, Earth thorns that could take your head off, traps that'd crush you if you stepped wrong. Wood his lava beaver seemed to approve of the violence, which was probably not a good sign.
"You're enjoying this way too much," Aullie told him after Haru crushed three steel barriers in under a minute.
"Am I?" Haru wiped rock off his hands. "Good."
But their groove got interrupted when Sora got called away.
"Shinkyo's open again," she said, shouldering her pack at the transport platform. "They made a small team of teachers and students to bond their jewels and I still need my darkness bond."
"How long?" Aullie asked, trying to keep his voice casual.
"Few days. Maybe a week if things go sideways." She shot him a look. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"Bring back something cool," Aki said. "Like a cursed sword or something."
"Please don't bring back anything cursed," Haru added quickly.
Sora laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
Aullie watched the group disappear into the morning haze, his chest tight for reasons he didn't want to think about too hard.
Two days later, they were out on the northern range getting their asses kicked by elemental reaction drills when Ryota showed up.
He walked onto the field like he owned the place, which was typical Ryota behavior. But something was different. A whole new team was with him, some spear fighter who looked like he ate shit for breakfast, a sniper with ice in her veins, and this monk with light beads who hadn't said a word since they arrived.
"Well, well," Aullie said, straightening up. "Where has his highness been lately? I thought that maybe the demons made you run back to your castle."
Ryota's mouth twitched. "Miss me?"
"Like a hole in the head. What's with the entourage?"
"New squad. New approach." Ryota flexed his fingers, and Aullie caught the glint of reinforced knuckle guards. "Turns out working with idiots gets you killed in the real world. Who knew?"
Aki snorted. "Did you just admit you were wrong about something? Someone mark the calendar."
"I adapt," Ryota said coolly. "It's what separates the survivors from the casualties."
There was an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before. Something harder.
"So you're actually going to try and work with people now?" Haru asked. "Instead of treating them like expendable backup?"
"I'm going to win. However that needs to happen."
The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken challenge.
"Thinking you can beat us in Squad Trials huh?" Aullie asked.
Ryota's smile was sharp as a blade. "I don't think anything anymore. I plan for it."
Their eyes met across the training field. Not the old rivalry, that had felt childish, petty. This was something else.
"May the best team win," Aullie said finally.
"Oh," Ryota replied, already turning away. "We will."
***
The academy felt like a ghost town.
Aullie sat on the edge of the dorm roof, legs dangling over the side, watching the lights scattered across Kirin's campus. Training halls still glowing at midnight, dorm windows flickering on and off as people tried to sleep, the warded gates pulsing their steady rhythm. It should have been peaceful. Instead, it felt like waiting for something to break.
He rolled his lockpick between his fingers, the bronze sheen shining in moonlight.
Soft paws on stone. Shinku padded out of the shadows and settled beside him, close enough that Aullie could feel the warmth radiating from his fur.
"You get weird when she's not around," Shinku said, his voice that low rumble that was almost a purr.
"It's not just that."
"No?"
Aullie let out a long breath. "Everything's moving too fast. Demons getting organized, Squad Trials breathing down our necks, Ryota showing up with his new crew like he's planning to gut us all..." He turned the lockpick over again. "I keep thinking I'll have time to figure shit out, but time's not exactly cooperating."
Shinku pressed against his side, solid and warm. His eyes glowed in the dark, almost looking old and knowing.
"You want to know something stupid?" the cat said quietly. "In my last life, I was Just another stray getting kicked around, scrounging for scraps in back alleys. No name, no home, nothing."
Aullie's throat tightened. He'd heard pieces of this before, but never the whole story.
"You found me behind that shrine, remember? Half-dead, probably looked like roadkill. And you..." Shinku's voice got softer. "You gave me your dinner, one that you needed as much as me and didn't ask for anything. Didn't expect me to do any stupid tricks or earn it. Just fed me because I was hungry."
"That life…it was miserable most of the time, but you were the only good thing I had left," Aullie said quietly.
"And you were mine."
Shinku looked up at him, red eyes reflecting the stars. "I came back because I remembered that. I don't know what kind of fucked up situation we're walking into, but I know one thing, I'll be with you to the end, again."
Aullie's hand shook a little as he reached down to scratch behind Shinku's ears. The cat leaned into the touch, purring for real now.
"I think I'm done waiting," Aullie said.
"For what?"
"The right moment. To tell her how I feel. To tell all of them..." He swallowed hard. "We're running out of time to say the things that matter."
"We don't have forever," Shinku agreed. "Better now than never."
Aullie closed his fist around the lockpick and nodded.
"Then let's make it count."
The silence stretched between them, but it didn't feel empty anymore. It felt like the moment before you jump, scary as hell, but full of possibility.