The night sky stretched endlessly overhead, dark and silent.
PRACK.
A piece of burning wood cracked apart.
Ash drifted upward while glowing embers floated into the darkness. The small campfire crackled softly, its warmth pushing back the cold mountain air.
Yamato sat beneath a tree, his back resting against the rough bark while he carefully supported the sleeping Lumei beside him.
His body wasn't tired from battle.
His mind was.
The image of Lumei's reaction continued to replay inside his head.
A simple memory lapse, yet the response had been far from simple.
Yamato's eyes lingered on his friend.
I don't know how to teach you guys.
Around the fire, the others gradually settled down.
Food was shared.
A few jokes were exchanged.
Laughter rose briefly into the night.
Then one by one, they drifted to sleep beneath the trees.
Yamato remained awake.
He lay on his back, hands folded beneath his head, staring at the stars.
Minutes passed.
His body shifted.
Left.
Then right.
His restless thoughts refused to let him sleep.
Phew...
A long sigh escaped him.
Then another.
And another.
His gaze remained fixed on the sky.
Now that the mission is over...
I need to become a Vessel.
Morning arrived with golden sunlight spilling over the hills.
Birds chirped from distant trees as the forest slowly came alive.
One by one, the students woke.
Stretching.
Yawning.
Rubbing sleep from their eyes.
Only one person remained motionless.
Master Ozaki.
He still lay on the ground with one arm resting across his chest.
His wounds had completely healed, his thoughts had not.
Sora was the first to notice.
"Where's Master?"
"Still sleeping," Yamato answered.
"I guess blacking out really shook him," Ichiha said as he stood and stretched.
Chella brushed leaves from her clothes.
"He thinks too much."
A while later, Ozaki finally stirred.
Slowly, he sat upright and rolled his shoulders.
"Ah..."
A groan escaped him.
"My back."
The students looked over.
Ozaki smiled weakly.
"I'm not as young as I used to be."
Lumei blinked.
"You're only twenty-nine, sir."
The group burst into laughter.
For the first time since the battle, Ozaki laughed with them.
The tension surrounding him eased, if only a little.
Soon, they packed their belongings and resumed their journey.
They walked through forests and across rocky trails.
Sometimes they chatted, sometimes they shared food, sometimes they simply enjoyed the peaceful silence.
Yamato remained mostly quiet.
Lost in thought.
Two days later, the familiar cave finally came into view.
The temporary shelter of BRES Villagers.
Several children spotted them first.
"They're back!"
The children ran ahead.
Within moments, villagers poured out of the cave entrance.
Excited voices erupted everywhere.
"You're back!"
"What happened?"
"Is our village safe?"
Master Ozaki raised a hand.
The crowd slowly quieted.
"Your village is safe."
A collective breath escaped the crowd.
"Another village was destroyed instead."
The relief was immediate.
Some cried, some laughed. Others simply dropped to their knees in gratitude.
That night, celebration filled the cave.
Fires were lit.
Food was shared.
Songs echoed through the mountains.
For the first time in days, nobody was fighting.
Nobody was running.
Nobody was trying to survive.
They were simply people celebrating life.
As evening deepened, groups gathered around the campfires.
Lumei laughed loudly at one circle.
Sora and Chella exchanged stories in another.
Ichiha quietly joined the conversations.
Yamato sat apart from them all.
The dancing flames reflected in his eyes, his thoughts remained elsewhere.
Then Master Ozaki stood.
The conversations gradually died down.
"You all did well."
His voice carried through the cave.
"And as promised..."
He raised his hand.
The space beside him distorted, ripples spread through the air.
Ozaki pushed his arm into the distortion and pulled out a large brown leather bag.
A faint glow escaped its opening.
The students watched with anticipation.
Reaching inside, Ozaki withdrew five smaller pouches.
"Four thousand Flicks each."
He began handing them out.
Lumei caught his pouch.
Its weight immediately pulled down his arm.
"Woohoo!"
He tossed it into the air.
"This thing's heavy!"
Chella grinned from ear to ear.
"My first paycheck from Master Ozaki."
Sora hugged hers against her chest.
"Thank you, sir!"
Ichiha bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Master."
Then the four students raised their voices together.
"Thank you, sir!"
Ozaki laughed.
The others quickly followed.
Yamato stepped forward when his turn came.
Ozaki held out the final pouch.
Yamato accepted it.
"Thanks, sir."
His voice was quieter than the rest.
But as he turned away, a small smile finally appeared.
Moments later, he was laughing with everyone else.
For the remainder of the evening, they celebrated.
And for a brief moment, the burden of the mission disappeared.
The following morning, Team Ozaki departed alongside Master Regns.
Their destination was the academy.
Unlike before, their pace was much faster.
Everyone wanted to return home.
The path carried them through thick forests alive with sound.
Insects chirped.
Leaves rustled.
Birds called from distant branches.
Phew.
Yamato sighed.
A few minutes later...
Phew.
Then again.
Phew.
Lumei finally nudged him.
"You've been sighing for hours."
Yamato rubbed the back of his head.
"What is going on?"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Nothing much."
He paused.
"Just memories."
Lumei studied him for a moment, then shrugged.
"Alright."
No further questions.
The journey continued. Conversations came and went.
Yet Yamato's silence remained.
Hours later, towering academy buildings emerged beyond the trees.
"There it is..."
Sora's eyes lit up.
Everyone stopped. For a moment, they simply stared.
"Wooow..."
Relief spread across the group.
Home.
When they reached the gates, everyone gradually separated.
Goodbyes were exchanged, hands waved, smiles followed.
Eventually only Yamato and Lumei remained.
The two had stopped briefly at the library before heading toward their dorms.
Night had already fallen, the moon hung high above the academy.
Brighter than usual.
Larger than usual.
Its pale light bathed the village below.
With magical sight enhancement, even the smallest craters and imperfections became visible.
It was beautiful.
The two boys turned a corner leading toward their dormitory.
Then Yamato suddenly shouted ahead.
"I still need to become a Vessel!"
A grin spread across his face.
"I need better pay so Mom can live a better life."
Lumei looked back, then laughed.
"You know that's impossible."
He pointed at Yamato.
"But keep dreaming."
The two burst into laughter.
Moments later, they disappeared into the dormitory.
They washed up.
Stretched, iollapsed into their beds and quickly fell asleep.
Everyone except Sora.
She stared at the ceiling of her dorm room.
Wide awake.
The mission replayed inside her mind.
Yamato's coldness, his strange mood, his constant worrying.
What's going on with him?
The question lingered, but exhaustion finally won.
Her eyelids grew heavy.
Soon, she drifted into sleep.
—
Not far from the academy, Chella finally returned home.
The moment her parents opened the door, smiles spread across their faces.
Their daughter was safe.
Without hesitation, they wrapped her in a tight embrace.
The rest of the evening passed with stories.
Stories of travel, stories of battle, stories of fighting alongside the strongest man in the world.
"You really did all that..."
Her mother stared in disbelief.
"With Master Ozaki?"
"I thought this was just training."
Chella smiled.
Then reached into her pocket and produced her pouch of Flicks.
The heavy bag landed on the table.
Both parents froze, then their faces lit up.
Her father looked at the pouch, then at his daughter.
The smile slowly faded into something more serious.
"Become as strong as you can."
His voice lowered.
"For his sake."
Silence followed.
"...His death must not be in vain."
—
That same night, Ichiha left the academy grounds.
A small bag rested over his shoulder, his destination was not far away.
Home. Or what remained of it.
The abandoned house stood in complete silence.
As it always did.
No lights, no voices, no laughter.
Only memories.
This had become his ritual, every successful mission ended here.
A tribute.
A promise.
A reminder.
He stepped inside and walked toward a familiar room.
Photographs covered the walls, old faces, smiling faces.
Frozen moments from a life that no longer existed.
His parents, his cousins, his uncles, his aunts.
Gone.
All because of Kaku.
Slowly, Ichiha sat on the floor, his hand reached toward a photograph.
His mother. His father.
Still smiling, still alive within the picture.
He pulled the frame against his chest.
"Mom..."
His voice trembled.
"Dad..."
Tears slipped down his face.
"I couldn't do anything."
The room remained silent.
"I couldn't even land a proper hit."
His grip tightened.
"I couldn't make him pay for what he did to our family."
The words finally broke him.
His shoulders shook, the tears came freely.
Outside, moonlight poured through the broken window.
And beneath its pale glow, Ichiha mourned the family he could never bring back.