Small. Silent. Controlled.
She couldn't have been taller than five feet, but the air itself changed when her boots touched the splintered boards.
She wore a tailored black tuxedo coat that flowed to her calves, the fabric whispering with each step. Beneath the hood, a single black braid slipped forward along her chest.
At her hip hung a katana—a lacquer-black scabbard with a silver guard that shimmered under moonlight.
She reached up.
And pulled the hood down.
A young woman. Razor-cut bangs. Eyes like steel drawn thin. Her face held no hostility—only decision. Her presence was not loud. It was sharp.
Ren's breath caught. His eyes widened as if he recognized something he wished he didn't.
Yuumo stiffened. "Who the hell…?"
The girl didn't look at Hikaru. Or Juxo. Or anyone in particular.
Her gaze swept the deck once—impersonal, calculating—and landed forward.
Then she spoke, voice quiet, unshaken.
"Target confirmed. Retrieval, or elimination."
Her hand slid to the katana's hilt.
That was far enough.
"Oi, Tuxedo Breath! You're not touching them!" Yuumo barked, stepping out from behind Ren and Ryuji.
Ren's eyes widened. "Yuumo—wait—!"
She didn't wait.
She stamped forward, planting herself directly in the swordswoman's path, blocking her advance.
The samurai stopped walking.
For a breath, neither of them so much as moved.
Then—
Shhhk—
Steel whispered as the katana slid barely an inch out of its sheath.
Yuumo's pulse kicked.
Her eyes widened, heart pounding.
Yuumo didn't lunge.
She stepped back—fast—sliding into position between Ren and Ryuji as the samurai fully unsheathed her blade in one clean, fluid motion.
Her voice came low. Flat. Icy.
"Target has moved from line of sight. Adjusting."
The katana gleamed under the moon.
Yuumo clenched her fists.
Ren set his stance.
Ryuji's grin faded.
And Suzie—the girl in the tuxedo—took her first step forward.
The deck fell silent again.
Only the fight to come made a sound—beating in all of their chests.
Suzie vanished again.
But this time, Yuumo didn't wait for the attack to come to her.
She kicked off the ground and ran straight at the broken railing—not away from danger, but into motion.
Suzie's blade appeared where Yuumo had just been, slicing the air in a clean arc.
Yuumo planted one foot on the railing, wall-ran along it, and launched herself off the corner post—
—dropping down in a spinning axe kick toward Suzie's head.
Suzie tilted her head just enough to evade—no panic, no surprise.
But Yuumo wasn't done.
She landed on a shattered deck plank, grabbed the broken wood with one hand, and swung it like a bat.
Suzie sliced through it mid-air with robotic precision—SHING!—but Yuumo had already used the momentum to slide under her, palm skimming the floor like a fighter in a platformer dodge roll.
She came up behind Suzie and kicked one of the loosened floorboards upward—
THUNK!
The board flipped like a sprung trap, forcing Suzie to hop back a step to avoid it.
Yuumo grinned. "Yeah, keep dancing!"
Suzie didn't answer. She lunged again—this time low, the katana aiming for Yuumo's ankles.
Yuumo jumped onto a nearby fallen mast beam, using it as a launch pad and flipping over Suzie—
Mid-air, she grabbed a snapped rope line, swung on it like a grappling hook, and came crashing down with a flying knee strike aimed at Suzie's back.
Suzie turned and parried with the side of her blade, the impact sending a shock up her arm but not moving her an inch.
Yuumo landed, skidding on one hand across wet boards. She snatched up a fallen metal lantern hook and chucked it like a throwing knife.
Suzie casually sliced it in half—
Only to see Yuumo using the distraction to vault off a half-collapsed support beam, descending with a spinning heel kick.
BAM!
The kick connected with Suzie's forearm, finally forcing her back a few feet.
Ryuji whistled. "Okay—Yuumo's playing parkour boss mode."
Ren narrowed his eyes. "No… she's testing her. Seeing how she moves."
"Or..she's just being a dumbass." Both Ryuji and Ren confessed simultaneously.
Yuumo cracked her knuckles, blood still dripping from her palm.
"C'mon, Tuxedo Samurai!," she said, bouncing on her heels like a game character after a combo. "That can't be all you got to offer."
Suzie lowered her katana.
Her expression never changed.
But the air around her did.
She moved again—
—and this time, she drew with intent to kill.
Yuumo never saw her.
One blink—Suzie was ten feet away.
The next—
She was behind her.
A soft metallic click cut through the wind.
Shhhk—CLACK.
Suzie slid her katana back into its sheath as if she'd merely adjusted her coat.
Yuumo didn't move.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then—
SPLAT.
A dark line of red split across Yuumo's midsection, and she lurched forward as if yanked by a hook. She collapsed face-first onto the cracked boards—blood spreading beneath her cheek.
Her fingers twitched once.
Then stopped.
Ren's eyes went wide. "Yuumo—"
Ryuji's voice ripped out of him, raw and panicked.
"YUUMOOOO!!!"
Hikaru—barely conscious—forced himself onto one knee, teeth gritted, blood dripping from his brow. His vision blurred, but he saw Yuumo's body clearly enough.
It twisted something inside him that words couldn't touch.
While chaos broke above, silence bled into the lower room like a curse.
Zan-Xi was the first to move.
He leaned back in his chair, cracked his neck, and smirked—slow and wolfish.
"Well," he said, voice low with amusement, "looks like we got ourselves a win. Finally."
Mai didn't speak. Her eyes were steady, but her jaw was tight.
Yumiko's hand tightened around Shoto's limp one, knuckles white.
Then—
A rustle of fabric.
A breath.
Shoto stirred.
He groaned softly as he forced himself upright, trembling with the effort, chest still bound in bandages. His face was pale—but his eyes were open.
"Shoto…" Yumiko breathed, panic etched into every syllable.
Zan-Xi turned toward him, grin widening, hand resting casually over the scar that marred his right eye.
"Well, well," he drawled. "The king wakes. Kazami, good timing—one of your teammates just lost to one of mine."
Shoto didn't react at first. He just stared down at the sheets, fingers curling into the blanket.
Zan-Xi continued, lips pulled back in a taunting smile.
"No resolve. No reason to fight. You just exist, clinging to some mural myth of a king you're supposed to be reborn from."
Shoto's grip tightened.
Zan-Xi leaned forward, voice dripping mockery.
"Why don't you just quit? Surrender the swords. You and your little friends aren't capable of handling them—or the responsibility that comes with them. Just hand them ove—"
"SHUT UP."
The words cracked through the room like lightning.
Zan-Xi's smile froze.
Shoto's head was lowered, shadows cast over his eyes, but his voice was steady—even if it trembled with anger.
"Three days…" he muttered, then raised his head. "Me and Hina will have our battle in three days."
Yumiko's breath hitched.
Mai blinked, unreadable.
Zan-Xi's expression dimmed, amusement slipping.
Shoto stared straight at him now—tired, wounded, unsure—but not backing down.
"I know I don't have a purpose yet. Or a reason to fight." His fingers unclenched from the blanket. "But if it shuts you up… then I'll fight anyway."
In the corner, Neko's lips curled into a sharp, satisfied grin.
Zan-Xi, however, scowled faintly.
"Such a shame, Kazami…"
He stood, walking to the exit with unhurried steps. His coat swayed behind him as he pulled the door open.
Before leaving, he spoke without looking back.
"When you come back tomorrow—the runner's next. You know where to meet."
THUD.
The door closed.
And the pressure in the room eased—just barely.
But no one exhaled.
Because above them…
Yuumo's blood was still drying in the wind.
Ren was the first to move.
He sprinted forward—only to be stopped mid-step by something he couldn't see, just feel. A pressure like a steel wall pressed against his chest.
Ryuji froze behind him, fists clenched.
"Hikaru! Can you move!?"
Hikaru forced himself upright with his bow, using it like a cane. He swayed, blood dripping from his face, but his eyes were fixed on Suzie.
"Wh-What the hell did she just do.."
She stood motionless, katana sheathed, her gaze already leaving Yuumo as if she were irrelevant now that she'd fallen.
The wind died.
The water stilled.
Then—
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Bootsteps on metal stairs.
A new voice intruded, smooth and amused.
"Well, well… looks like the opening act didn't disappoint."
All eyes snapped to the stairwell as Zan-Xi emerged from the smoke.
The moonlight caught his scarred eye, and his hands were tucked loosely into his coat pockets—casual, almost lazy, like this was a show he'd paid to watch.
Ren's face twisted. "Zan-Xi—"
Zan-Xi ignored him completely.
His gaze flicked over the damage, then to Yuumo's motionless form, then to the lingering haze where Hikaru and Juxo collided minutes before.
Zan-Xi slowly walked to Juxo, lifting him up and carrying him on his shoulder.
Finally, his eyes slid to Suzie.
"You did clean work," he said simply. "Efficient."
Suzie gave no response—only dipped her head slightly, acknowledging him like a superior officer.
Ryuji took one step forward. "You sent her?!"
Zan-Xi smirked. "Correction— she sent herself." His tone was almost playful. "Consider it… payback for what that wind boy did to Ezekiel."
Ren's fists trembled. "She damn near killed her!"
"Not my problem if you lot can't keep up." Zan-Xi shrugged before turning his gaze fully on Hikaru. "And look at you—still alive. Impressive, considering." He patted Juxo's thighs.
Hikaru didn't speak.
His bow tightened as it slowly turned back into a sword.
Zan-Xi chuckled. "Relax. If I wanted you dead now, she'd have finished the job."
Suzie's hand hovered near her sheath again—silent, unreadable.
Then—Zan-Xi pivoted, already walking away from the scene.
"Oh, and Ren?" he called lazily over his shoulder. "Hope you're stronger by tomorrow. Because you're next on the list of our win."
Ren's jaw locked.
Suzie moved to follow him when—
A drop of blood hit the deck behind her.
She paused. Looked back. Not at Yuumo—but at Hikaru.
Their eyes met for half a second.
Then she turned and vanished into the shadows behind Zan-Xi.
The moment they were gone—
Ren and Ryuji bolted forward and knelt beside Yuumo.
"Stay with us—HEY!" Ryuji shouted, turning her over gently.
Hikaru staggered toward them, barely keeping upright, hand shaking.