Asuna's hoarse "Show me how" echoed in the twilight, a desperate plea and a firm commitment. Shouyo, sensing the young man's raw determination, offered a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "Good," he said, rising to his feet. "First, we eat. Then, we talk." He led Asuna to his family's humble dwelling, where Maple, his mother, always found a way to stretch their meager meals. Kirito, his father, looked at Shouyo with a silent question when he saw the emaciated stranger, but Shouyo's unwavering gaze conveyed a silent message: Trust me. That night, Asuna ate more than he had in weeks, the simple warmth of food and a relatively safe roof over his head a stark contrast to his recent hell. He listened intently as Shouyo, speaking with a maturity that startled both Kirito and Miles (who had joined them), outlined his radical vision for Kutsilyo, carefully keeping the full depth of his understanding to himself. He spoke of strategy, resource management, and the ruthless efficiency needed to reclaim their village.
The next few days were a whirlwind of quiet activity. Shouyo wasted no time. His first official recruit, Asuna, was eager to prove his worth. Shouyo tasked him with mapping the bandits' territories, observing their movements, and identifying their key leaders beyond Grimo. Shouyo's sharp mind easily absorbed the complex details Asuna reported, processing information with an uncanny speed that belied his age. Miles, after a long, intense conversation with Shouyo where the younger boy simply articulated his unusually insightful ideas about their village's problems, pledged his absolute loyalty. He didn't fully understand where Shouyo's uncanny insights came from, but he trusted his best friend implicitly. Miles, with his knowledge of the village's hidden paths and the villagers' everyday routines, became their eyes and ears, a network builder, quietly gathering information from the most unlikely sources.
Their third target was Lindsy. Shouyo had a strong intuition about her, a lingering impression from the market that spoke of hidden depths. He found her a few days later, trying to blend into a group of younger beggars near the old well, her sharp eyes constantly scanning. He approached her, offering a piece of dried fruit.
"You're Lindsy, aren't you?" he asked, his voice calm.
She flinched, ready to bolt. "Who's asking?" she shot back, her stance defensive.
"The one who helped you escape the mercenary in the market," Shouyo replied, a hint of his Kakeru smirk. "I know you're more than just a pickpocket. And I know you're looking for a better life than this."
Lindsy eyed him suspiciously. "And what makes you think that?"
"I've seen the way you move," Shouyo said, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "The way you observe. You notice things others don't. You have a sharp mind, Lindsy, and a strength you haven't even begun to realize." He had seen the subtle signs of her quick thinking and her unique way of slipping through crowds. He knew she had potential, even if he couldn't explain how.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"I want to take back Kutsilyo. And I need people like you, with hidden talents, to help me," Shouyo stated simply. "Join me. We can make this place safe again. We can build something new."
Hesitation warred with a desperate flicker of hope in Lindsy's eyes. A safe place? Power? It sounded like a fairy tale in this rotting village. But the look in Shouyo's eyes was utterly serious, utterly believable. She had nothing to lose but her miserable, dangerous existence.
"Alright," she said, finally. "What do I call this... group?"
Shouyo looked at Miles, then Asuna, then back at Lindsy. "We work in the shadows, against those who thrive in the darkness. We will be their unseen opposition, striking where they least expect. From this day forward, we are the Kutsilyo Shadows."
And so, the Kutsilyo Shadows were born. Their headquarters was an abandoned, overgrown shack deep in the woods, painstakingly cleared and made habitable by Shouyo's meticulous planning and the raw strength of Miles and Asuna. Lindsy, with her uncanny ability to slip unseen through the village, became their primary intelligence gatherer, learning the gossip, the weaknesses, and the daily routines of every bandit and mercenary leader. Asuna, with his quiet strength and growing trust in Shouyo, focused on physical training, often joining Miles for long, rigorous exercises to improve their combat readiness. Shouyo, the mastermind, orchestrated their moves. He had them identify Grimo's most vulnerable supply routes, observe his favored haunts, and even subtly sow seeds of mistrust between different bandit factions through carefully placed rumors.
Their first small victories were invisible to the villagers, but significant to the Shadows. A small cache of stolen goods, meant for Grimo, mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear subtly redistributed among the neediest villagers. A key bandit lookout found himself inexplicably disoriented, allowing villagers to fish from a disputed part of the lake without harassment for a day. These were calculated, minor disruptions, designed to test the waters and subtly chip away at the oppressors' confidence. Shouyo was beginning to feel a cautious optimism, a sense of control returning to his life for the first time since his reincarnation. He was applying the principles of market disruption and competitor analysis from his past life, now with much higher stakes.
Then, the world shattered.
It happened swiftly, brutally, one cool evening as the first stars began to prick the darkening sky. Grimo, enraged by the consistent, inexplicable disruptions to his operations and desperate to reassert his dominance, launched a sudden, merciless raid on the village's central marketplace, a place usually bustling even at dusk. It wasn't about theft; it was a display of raw, terrifying power. Shouyo, Lindsy, and Asuna were observing from the rooftops, preparing for a planned distraction, when the screams erupted.
Grimo's men, fueled by cheap ale and a thirst for violence, were smashing stalls, terrorizing families, and setting fire to huts. The marketplace, vibrant moments ago, became a scene of unspeakable terror. Shouyo's blood ran cold. His plans, his careful steps, felt utterly useless in the face of such raw, unbridled malice. He saw his family's stall, normally tended by his mother, Maple, and often visited by his caring older sister, Yui. His heart leaped into his throat.
"My family!" Shouyo gasped, his strategic mind momentarily overridden by primal fear. He raced across the rooftops, ignoring Asuna's shouted warnings, his only thought for Yui. He knew she often stayed late to help other villagers with their mending.
He dropped into the chaos, pushing through panicked villagers, the smell of smoke and fear choking him. He saw Maple, thankfully, helping a neighbor pull an injured child away from a burning cart. But Yui… where was Yui? He scanned desperately, his eyes wide with a terror he hadn't felt since the plane crash.
Then he saw her.
Near the flickering light of a burning stall, a group of Grimo's biggest, most vicious men had cornered her. Yui, always so gentle, was trying to shield a younger boy, no older than Setsuna, from their blows. She was begging them, pleading, her usual kindness twisted into desperate fear. One of the bandits, a hulking brute with a scarred face, laughed, a cruel, guttural sound, and shoved her roughly to the ground. Yui cried out as her head hit the wooden planks. The boy she protected screamed, a high, piercing sound that cut through the cacophony. Before Shouyo could even shout, before he could do anything, the bandit raised a heavy, crude club, studded with sharp nails, and brought it down with sickening force.
A wet, sickening thud echoed in Shouyo's ears. Time seemed to stop. Yui's body went limp. The younger boy shrieked. Shouyo's vision swam, his carefully constructed walls crumbling. The "what if" from his dying moments, the humorous curiosities, vanished, replaced by an agonizing, soul-crushing grief. He felt a primal scream tear through his own throat, a sound raw with pain and utter helplessness. His sister. His kind, gentle sister. They had murdered her, right before his eyes. The rage that erupted within him was unlike anything he had ever known, even in his past life. It was a cold, pure, consuming fire that threatened to burn him alive. The market, the screams, the bandits… it all faded into a red haze. He saw only Yui, motionless on the ground.