For weeks I stared at white ceilings.Heard the beep of monitors. Smelled disinfectant.
Now it's the training hall again.The sting of polish in the air, sweat clinging to the walls. Cadets stomping through drills, voices sharp, orders bouncing. Too alive. Too loud.
Axis Six stands in formation. Like nothing happened. Like we didn't almost die.
Riku's leg tapping like a drum he can't shut off.Yui—still as stone, eyes narrowed, waiting for Kai to cut into us.Emi beside me. Breath steady. But every so often, a shift of weight off her right leg. A scar that hasn't forgotten.Rin a shadow at the end of the line. Eyes down, but I know he's watching everything.Kaito leans close."Think Kai kills us once for failing, or twice?"His grin is crooked, his voice too loud. He wants me to laugh.
I don't.
I just listen to the static in my head. The weight pressing on my ribs. Violet gnawing under my skin like it doesn't belong to me.
We look ready. We feel healed.But the body remembers.And I can't shake it—That sense of being watched.
The doors creak.
We turn.
It isn't Kai.
Kuro Rhys strolls in like he owns the place. Hands in his pockets, smile lazy. Same face that stepped through Krait's slaughter and brushed it off like dust.
His footsteps echo softer than they should. He doesn't rush, doesn't march. Just moves like the hall's already his.
No crowd. No noise. Just six of us, staring.
Kaito's mouth falls open, like he's seeing a story come to life.Emi narrows her eyes, watching too closely, like she doesn't trust what she sees.Rin doesn't move, but I feel him watching harder—like every flicker of Kuro's shadow matters.Yui folds her arms tight across her chest, unimpressed, but I catch her knuckles whitening.Riku scowls, jaw tight enough to crack. He wanted Kai. Not this.
And me—when his eyes stop on me, even for a breath—the static roars.
He laughs, soft, like the silence is a joke only he gets."Come on. Don't look at me like that. We've met."
He says it like saving us was nothing. Like he doesn't remember the blood on the floor.
"Relax, I'm not here to play hero this time. Kai's been… borrowed. Higher-ups threw him at some classified mess. So congratulations—"
He claps his hands once, loud. The sound rattles off the walls.
"—you're stuck with me."
Kaito blurts before he can stop himself. "You're kidding."
Kuro winks. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Silence. Thick.
His smile doesn't fade.It twists.
He starts pacing in front of us. Not a march. A stroll. Like he's bored already. His boots click soft on the wood, each step stretching the pause longer.
"Axis Six," he says, dragging it out. "The kids who almost got turned into stains by Krait."
Riku's shoulders go tight, chest heaving a little harder.Yui doesn't flinch, but her jaw locks like stone.Kaito shifts, words caught in his throat, then swallows them back down.
Kuro chuckles under his breath. "Relax. You lived. Barely. Credit where it's due… most of it mine."
The silence after hits heavier than his words.
He stops. Turns. Arms spread like he's presenting a stage.
"Alright. First lesson."
A clap. Sharp. Echoes through the hall.
"All of you—come at me. Spectra on. I won't use mine."
The words hang there. Ridiculous.
For a second I wait for the punchline.It doesn't come.
The air shifts. The kind that makes your stomach drop.
Yui's eyes narrow—hungry, like she's been waiting for this.Riku leans forward, teeth bared.Kaito mutters, "You're insane." His voice cracks.Emi doesn't blink. Watching. Calculating.Rin finally lifts his head. Quiet. Ready.
And me—my pulse spikes, static screaming in my skull.
He means it.
Yui moves first.Of course she does.
A sharp exhale. Her stance slides open. Violet flickers in her eyes. Then she's forward—fast, deliberate, her fist shooting straight for Kuro's chest.
He doesn't block.He doesn't need to.
A tilt of the shoulders and the strike misses by less than a breath. His hands are still buried in his pockets.
Yui pivots on her heel, snaps a kick toward his ribs. He sways back. Just far enough that the air stirs against his shirt, nothing more.
Her eyes narrow. She adjusts, strikes again—three quick blows, precise, mechanical.Each one finds only air.
Kuro's grin grows. "Not bad. Faster next time."
Yui exhales sharp, feet sliding back into stance. She's flushed, not from exhaustion— from rage.
Before she can try again, Riku charges.Of course he does.
A roar tears out of him. His fists flare green, veins in his arms lit bright. He doesn't hold back. He never does.
His first swing comes wide. Kuro ducks under it, smooth, like water pouring around a stone.The second—straight, brutal—Kuro sidesteps. The fist slams into the mat hard enough to echo.
Riku snarls, pivots, hurls a hook. Miss.Another. Miss.
Every strike slices at empty space, Kuro weaving away by inches.Not mocking. Not serious. Just untouchable.
"Sloppy," Kuro says, his grin sharp. "All noise, no aim."
Riku roars louder, swings down for a low sweep.Kuro hops it. Easy.His boots kiss the ground without a sound.
Riku's fist slams into the mat again. Wood creaks. His breath heaves.
Kaito seizes the gap. He bolts in from the flank, moving quick but uneven. His grin looks forced, like he's trying to laugh at his own nerves.
He feints right, then drops low, arms reaching for Kuro's legs.
For half a second it almost works.
Then Kuro twists aside. A blur, nothing more.Kaito grabs nothing but air.
Momentum carries him forward—straight into Riku's chest.Both of them grunt, stumble, half-collapse into each other.
Kuro claps once. "Teamwork. Beautiful."
The words sting more than a punch.
Rin moves next.
No roar. No warning. Just silence.She slides forward, sharp and quick, fists tucked close. Her movements are cleaner than Riku's—colder. She doesn't waste breath.
A jab flashes out, straight for Kuro's jaw.
He tilts his head. The strike misses by a breath.
Another jab. Then a hook.Kuro leans back, steps sideways, hands still buried in his pockets. His grin doesn't falter.
Rin doesn't either. She pushes tighter, fists snapping faster now. One-two. One-two. Every strike efficient, surgical.
Kuro weaves through them like smoke. Dodges without effort, like she's not even close.
Finally Rin pulls back, chest rising. Eyes flicking, calculating the angle she missed.
Kuro laughs softly. "Sharp. But I've seen sharper."
Her jaw sets. She says nothing.
Then Emi steps forward.
She doesn't rush. Doesn't strike. She circles instead, slow, her eyes locked on him. Her Spectra hums faintly in the air, a shimmer at the edges. Not walls yet—just pressure.
Kuro tilts his head, watching her watch him."Careful girl. Too careful."
She doesn't blink.
Then she snaps forward, testing him with a kick. He slides aside, hands still in his pockets.
Another step, another strike. Higher, aimed for his chest. He leans, dodges, his grin widening.
Emi exhales, pivots hard on her good leg. Her thigh tightens—I see it, the scar pulling—but she swings anyway.
Kuro hops the sweep, lands light, then sidesteps again."You hide it well," he says, voice amused. "But I see it."
Emi's jaw tightens.
She steps back, shoulders square, breath controlled.
And for a moment, none of them move.
Yui crouched low, ready to launch again.Riku pushing up to his feet, fury burning.Kaito panting, sweat dripping down his cheek.Rin still and silent, fists up, gaze locked.Emi steady, one hand tightening at her side.
All five.
Kuro grins like the whole thing is a game.Finally, he exhales through his nose and pulls one hand from his pocket—just one.
Finally, he exhales through his nose and pulls one hand from his pocket—just one.
That's enough.
They move. All five.
Yui darts first, low and fast. Riku barrels beside her, fists blazing green. Kaito cuts wide, looking for an opening. Rin slips in sharp from the flank. Emi presses forward, her steps measured, controlled.
Together. At last.
For a second it almost looks like they'll land something.
Then Kuro moves.
Not blur-fast. Not Spectra-fast. Just… too fast to follow.
Yui's strike slices empty air. Kuro's gone before she feels the miss.Riku's hook crashes into the floorboards, splinters flying. Kuro isn't there.Kaito lunges—Kuro tilts, and he slams into nothing but Rin, their shoulders colliding hard.Emi's hand cuts forward—he slides past her guard like water through cracks.
Every time they swing, he's already gone. Every angle they try, he's past it. His footsteps tap the floor too lightly, too quick.
Kuro slips between them, weaving, ducking, twisting.A grin plastered across his face the entire time.
"Better," he says, voice carrying even as he moves. "But not enough."
They gasp, stumble, curse—swing again.
Still nothing lands.
It's like chasing a shadow.
And me—I can't breathe. The static in my head drowns out everything but their gasps, the thuds of missed strikes, and his laughter threading through it all.
He's not just dodging.He's dancing.
They keep swinging.Fists. Elbows. Shoulders. All five of them throwing everything at once.
And he keeps slipping through.Too quick. Too clean.
Riku roars. Yui's teeth grit. Rin's strikes cut sharper, faster. Emi presses harder, scar forgotten. Kaito swears under his breath, desperate to land something.
Still nothing.
Kuro's grin widens.He ducks under a fist, spins past a kick, leans back just enough for Rin's jab to slice the air in front of his nose.
Their breaths come ragged now. Frustrated. Burned out.
He exhales once. Almost bored.
Then stops moving.
Five strikes crash toward him at the same time—and his voice cuts through it.
"My turn."
One step. Smooth.
His arm brushes Yui's shoulder—her stance crumbles, she stumbles back.A shift of his hip and Riku's weight is stolen—he slams to the floor again.He sidesteps Kaito, flicks him aside with a palm to the chest—Kaito skids across the mat, gasping.Two fingers pry Rin's guard open, twist—she loses balance and drops to a knee.Emi braces hardest, Spectra shimmering—but he pushes once at her scarred leg. Her strength folds. She staggers, forced back.
Five bodies. Dropped. In a breath.
Kuro stands alone in the center.Hands back in his pockets.Grinning.
The hall is silent but for their heaving chests against the floor.
And me—still standing.Static roaring until I almost miss when his eyes cut straight into me.
"You. Still waiting?"
The others are still down.Breathless. Bruised. Watching.
Kuro doesn't give me time to think.
He closes the gap in two steps. Faster than before, but not too fast. Just enough to make me flinch.
His hand snaps out—straight for my chest.
Instinct. My arm jerks up. I block. Barely. The shock stings through my forearm.
Kuro grins. "Good. You're awake."
Then he twists, heel flashing for my ribs. I duck—sloppy, late—but it misses. Only because he let it.
Static buzzes, rattling my bones.
I throw a punch. Wild. Heavy.
He slips past it, shoulder brushing mine, breath in my ear."Too slow."
I spin, swinging again—faster this time. He ducks under, kicks my ankle just enough to make me stumble.
The others groan at every miss. I hear it, feel it.
"Eyes up," Kuro says. His voice is calm. Too calm. "Not at the ground. Not at your feet. Up."
I grit my teeth. Throw another strike, this one tighter, aiming for his jaw.
He doesn't dodge this time.He blocks. Palm to fist. Easy. Effortless.
The static spikes—violet flaring at the edge of my sight. My chest burns, ribs tight.
"Better," he says, his grin fading into something else. Something sharper."Again."
I push harder. Jab. Cross. Hook.Each one met, brushed aside, dodged by an inch. He doesn't strike back—he just redirects, forcing me to swing again, harder, faster, angrier.
The static roars. My arms ache.
Then he stops dodging. He plants himself still. Waiting.
I throw everything at him. My fist crashes toward his face.
And he just stands there.
At the last second, his head tilts—barely. My strike cuts air.
The miss almost drops me.
Kuro leans close, his grin back, teeth bright."There it is," he whispers. "Almost."
Kuro moves.No warning. Just a blur of motion.
His hand slices toward my chest—straight, clean.
Instinct takes over.I twist, feel the air rush past as his strike misses by a hair.
Gasps behind me. Even Kuro's grin flickers wider.
"Not bad."
Then his leg sweeps low, fast as lightning.
I don't see it until it's already there.My feet leave the floor.
The mat slams up into my back, breath tearing out of me.
Kuro stands over me, hands in his pockets again.Grinning like he knew it would end this way.
"Better than I thought," he says. "But still not enough."
Kuro offers me a hand.I take it before I can think. His grip is strong. Too strong.
He hauls me up like I weigh nothing.
"You've got teeth," he says, grin still carved across his face. "Try not to hide them."
The others are still catching their breath. Bruised. Silent. None of them looking at me.
Kuro steps back, both hands sliding into his pockets again."Good. Lesson one's done."
His grin lingers, but his eyes sharpen."Lesson two starts tomorrow. Try not to die before then."
He turns and strolls for the door, lazy as ever.Doesn't look back. Doesn't need to.
We're left standing there—sore, shaken, silent.
And me—static still clawing through my skull.Because when his eyes met mine—just for a breath—I swear he saw it.And if he saw it once, he'll drag it out again.