Hours later Dennis had awoken, he was in the infirmary. With a splitting headache he found himself a bit dazed.
"What happened?" He questioned.
Lexi sat by his bedside gave him some water. "You got laid out." She said, almost uninterested.
Dennis grits his teeth. "I remember now, that white haired kid snuck up on me, who the hell does he think he is, does he not know who i am?!" Dennis yells as he shatters a glass against the wall. "I have personal connections with Kenta if i say the word he's dead!"
Lexi nods. "But i found this, around outside of the school, seems the issue could solve itself." She said passing a sheet of paper to Dennis.
He smiled brightly looking down at the wanted poster of the group. "Trio of mischief?" He questioned. "So Dante and that white haired kid are aiding in that war?" He questions, but a deep sinister smile appears on his face. "I'll make you pay!"
The cramped dorm room pulsed with nervous energy as Yukki scolded them. "Why would you knocked out Dennis!?" He yells.
Kaito scoffs. "He was messing with Dante!"
Dante nervously looks away. Yukki furrows his brow. "Yeah Dennis is a piece of work, but he has favors with Kenta, he was personally admitted to this school, if he finds out you guys are wanted...." Yukki panics.
Then an alarm blares.
WANTED CRIMINALS WITHIN SCHOOL GROUNDS, IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS OF THEIR WHEREABOUTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER
Yukki rubs his hands through his head. "Just stay put here."
Nanami sat perched on the edge of Yukki's bed, arms folded, eyes flicking between the window and Kaito. "This place isn't exactly low-profile, Yukki," she muttered.
"It's the only place they wouldn't expect. For now," Yukki replied, glancing toward the hallway.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, not hard, but too deliberate.
Kaito frowned. "You expecting someone?"
Before Yukki could answer, Toni peeked through the door. "It's that Dennis fella."
Yukki clenched his jaw. "I knew he was prideful, but I didn't think he'd rat us out to the school board this fast!"
"He didn't just tell the board," Dante said grimly, peeking through the blinds. "Guards. At least eight of them. Full armor."
Yukki turned to Kaito, urgency flooding his voice. "Have you made progress with understanding magic?"
Kaito exhaled slowly. "Sort of. Spatial is…weird. It's like super confusing. But I've got better control over my elements now."
Yukki stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You need to get out of here, Kaito. Fast. If you take too long, you could lose everything. Your future, your freedom…maybe even your life."
Rika stood frozen near the door. "They found us. The fuzz actually found us!"
Yukki grits his teeth. "I was hoping i wouldn't get caught up into all of this." He says before turning to Kaito.
"Kaito can i really trust you to beat Renji, to end this whole thing, because now it isn't just you and your friends future, it's mines too."
Kaito met Yukki's eyes, steady and clear despite the chaos brewing outside. "You can trust me. I'll end this. Renji won't see me coming."
Yukki gave a slow nod, then extended his hand. Kaito gripped it firmly. "Make it quick," Yukki said. "And be smart. Renji's not just powerful. He's a monster."
Before anyone could respond, a sharp voice rang out from the courtyard below.
"Come out immediately! Yukki Reitz, surrender the fugitives and you may be spared!"
The crew froze.
Then another voice, venomous and shrill, cut through the air like a blade.
"Of course the father-killer would be harboring criminals! He's just like them!"
Kaito's stomach turned. "What did they just say?"
But before he could ask more, Yukki's expression hardened. He turned, walked to the door, and without warning, kicked it off its hinges with a crash that echoed through the building. The hallway outside burst into chaos as students screamed and guards surged forward to intercept.
"GO!" Yukki shouted, spinning into the fray, throwing up walls of earth and energy to block their view. "Don't stop until you reach Kuni!"
The crew didn't hesitate. Kaito grabbed Dante's arm and yanked him toward the stairwell. Rika and Toni flanked Nanami, who was still in shock, all sprinting full speed.
As they escaped through the rear halls of the dormitory, Kaito looked back once, just once, and saw Yukki pinned against the ground, being detained.
"I hope that's not the last time I see him," Kaito muttered.
Nanami glanced at him. "Then don't let it be. Finish this."
The sky above was starting to darken as they fled the school grounds. War was coming. But they weren't running from it.
They were racing straight into it, toward Kuni, and the final confrontation with Renji.
Hours later, Yukki sits alone in an empty, damp cell, the empire made quick work arresting him.
The echo of footsteps hitting the stone walls. The heavy doors of his cell opened up and in stepped his older brother, Jack. His face a mix of frustration and disbelief.
"What the hell are you doing, Yukki?!" Jack demanded, his voice laced with anger. "Are you out of your mind, you're risking everything, for some guy you barely know?!"
Yukki looked up, calm, "I know how it sounds, but Kaito's not just some guy, i've seen enough to believe in him. And i trust him."
Jack paced around the small space. "You better be damn sure, because if he's playing us, even a little, this doesnt just fall on us."
"I trust him," Yukki said firmly. "More then i've trusted anyone in a long time. And i need you to trsut me, you've got more pull within the empire, you know more then i do, Kaito can stop it, if we just give him a chance."
Jack stopped pacing, facing his brother. The fire in his eyes dimmed, replaced by understanding he let out a long, reluctant sigh.
"You're asking a lot," he said. "But.... i'll go, I'll stall the war, buy them some time." Jack says as he begins walking away. "Just know though Yukki, if this goes sideways, there's no coming back from it, we're both finsihed if your friend fails." Jack finishes as he walks away.
Yukki nodded silently, no comeback, or reassurance. Just the quiet weight of his choice settling in his chest.
As the door shut, Yukki rests his head on the wall. "Please don't be a mistake Kaito." Yukki hopes, that he didn't just doom them all with a single choice.