(Theme: "Bonds Beyond Weight")
A week had passed since the crater. Since the ash fell like snow, since the sky burned red, since Shin's last stand.
The scars were everywhere. In the land. In the silence between their words. In the weight pressing on their chests.
Kaito felt it with every step as he retraced the path toward the battlefield at dawn. His body still raw, still bruised, shirt in tatters, bandages tight across his ribs. The Cosmium woods whispered around him, but his focus stayed on what he'd lost.
The training suit.
He found it at the edge of the crater — or what was left. Half-melted plates, burnt wiring, fragments of gauntlet buried in glassed soil. He crouched, fingers brushing the wreckage. Not much, but enough. He gathered what he could and returned before Akari woke.
By midday, the trinite stone was strapped to his back — 118,000 kilograms. Every muscle trembled. Every step uphill felt like death reaching for his bones.
Akari watched from the shade of a crystal-laced tree. She drilled precise, surgical strikes, her blade cutting clean through the air like it owed her something.
Weakness disgusts me, she thought, eyes narrowing as he stumbled but didn't fall. But persistence… that's almost interesting.
Evening fell. The clearing filled with the sound of blade against blade. Kaito ducked her strike, but the tip of her dagger found his throat anyway.
"Predictable," she said, breathe steady.
"You paused," he said, panting, sweat dripping. "Again."
No smile. Just a subtle tilt of her head, as if deciding whether to let him live.
Later, beneath a fractured moon, Kaito sat cross-legged by the fire. The remains of his suit lay before him, scattered like broken promises. Holographic schematics flickered as he worked — rewiring, reconnecting. His hands ached, his mind raced.
"You'll overload it," Akari said quietly from across the flames.
"Says the one who blocks dragonfire with a dagger," Kaito shot back without looking up.
Dawn.
The suit hummed, blue light leaking from its cracked core. The readout blinked: 120,000 kilograms.
Akari froze, eyes sharp.
"When did you learn dragon engineering?"
"Three nights in the Guild library," Kaito said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Your survival drills helped me apply it."
Her gaze darkened.
"And one more thing I remembered…"
Her dagger slammed into a nearby tree, bark splitting.
"Who's Mary?"
Kaito's grin faded.
"You mumble her name every night."
The fire reflected in his eyes as he spoke, voice low.
"She believed in me. Even when I didn't. She was family. I couldn't save her."
Akari's expression softened — barely.
"Sentimental fools die first," she muttered. A beat. "…But I get it."
Her fingers brushed Shin's medic pin.
Night thickened like smoke through the trees. The fire had died down to coals, casting a soft red glow across the clearing. Kaito lay there, staring at the stars between tangled branches, but sleep wouldn't come.
She's been quiet. Too quiet.
The image of Akari at the fire earlier—staring into the flames, hand brushing Shin's medic pin—stuck in his mind.
Maybe she's breaking down.
The thought wouldn't let him be. So, he stood.
Kaito followed instinct more than tracks. The night was cold, the forest dense, but he moved without noise. Through the trees, he heard it: the rush of water. A fall.
And then he saw her.
The mist parted like it knew it shouldn't hide this.
Akari stood beneath the waterfall, water crashing around her, the moonlight painting silver across her bare shoulders and back. Her hair was loose, black as night, clinging to her skin. The scar that crossed her shoulder blade caught the light like a secret.
Kaito froze.
His breath hitched, heart pounding so loud he was sure the whole forest could hear it.
Oh no.
Move. Idiot, move. If she sees you here—she'll kill you. No hesitation. No warning. She'll gut you.
But he couldn't. His eyes wouldn't obey. His feet felt nailed to the ground.
She tilted her head back, water streaming through her hair. For a moment, she looked... at peace. Not the commander. Not the weapon. Just Akari.
And that undid him more than anything.
Finally, through sheer force of will, Kaito tore his gaze away.
He stumbled back through the trees, every nerve on fire, face burning hotter than dragonflame.
Stupid, stupid, stupid—
He didn't stop until he reached camp. He collapsed onto his bedroll, yanked the blanket over his head like it could smother the memory.
And still his heart wouldn't slow.
InMorning
Sunlight broke through the canopy, warm and blinding. Kaito sat bolt upright, groggy, face still red.
Forget it. Forget it!
And then—SMACK!
He slapped his cheek, hard enough to sting.
Akari, crouched at the fire sharpening her blade, looked up.
Eyebrow raised. Expression baffled.
"…What's this idiot up to now?" she muttered, shaking her head.
Kaito stared straight ahead at the fire, refusing to meet her gaze.
The training continued.
The suit strained under the load: 1.5 million kilograms. Blood trickled from Kaito's nose, veins bulging.
"IDIOT! Do want to kill yourself!?"
Akari slammed her palm on the core, forcing it down to 0.
Idiot what were you thinking on trying this!?
Aghhh… Leave it. Now listen!
"This is my max. Go past it and then you will be worth a fight."
"Let's see who surpasses who," he gasped, grinning through the pain.
At night, around the fire:
"We will train for one year."
"Why one year? Don't we get caught by them in the mean time"
No!
"The Phoenix Guild fell to the Blood Emperor's army. The Citadel won't waste time hunting us while their war burns."
Kaito nodded, determined.
"But..? Are the Citadel Hounds strong?"
"Top three in power. Even their civilians can kill low or mid-tier True Dragons. We're insects."
"I was a Citadel commander. That attack? It was meant to erase me. Now we hide. We train. Or we die."
Kaito clenched his fists.
"Then we'll become stronger. Stronger than the Blood Dragon Emperor."
Akari didn't argue.
ORION'S COMMENT:
Oho~! The Hounds hunt. The Emperor burns.
But two sparks defy the night.
Next: Inferno's Edge... and trust me, it's blazing.