After Kaito decided to just storm inside of the Dynasty guild hall. A "brave" thing to do. Dante and the others began to panic, how would this guild react to him just storming into their hall.
The front room was like a wide cafeteria, there was guild members all over the place, which made Dante and the others even more nervous!
However they all had barely even acknowledged him. A few passing glances were cast in their direction but besides that nothing. "If you're here to request a job you can just leave it on the board." A younger man said, before continuing a conversation he was having.
Kaito ever determined continued. "I'm not here to post any jobs, i'm here to fight Haruko, where is she!"
A man seated in the far back of the hall stood. "What kind of nonsense are you speaking?!" Once he stood Dante and the others instinctively backed away. Not Kaito however, he stood tall. The same grin on his face.
"Did I say something wrong?" Kaito cleared his throat. "I WANNA FIGHT HARUKO, NOT SOME RANDOM GUY!?"
A woman beside the man burst out laughing. "Oh, this is so rich!"
The man began walking towards Kaito. Dante reached for his blade, Toni just shook his head.
Before things could get any worse Patty jumped between them. "Please wait!" She huffed. "Jin, don't hurt them, this is Kaito he's the reason I returned safely!" She begged.
Jin looked down at Kaito, he was a tall man around 193cm. He had short black hair though it was well kept, and piercing black eyes. "Then I suggest you enlighten him on who he's speaking to."
Patty bows. "Mr, Kaito. This is Jin, he's Haruko's right hand."
Kaito looks at the man for a long time. "Hmmm, I don't know Patty, he doesn't look like a hand."
Everyone just stared at the group of them. Nanami was becoming quickly embarassed since Kaito was making them all look foolish!
Another woman shook her head at them. "If this guys your captain, I doubt any of you are all that bright."
Nanami was personally offended by that, but the young womans glare made her uneasy to voice it.
Toni scoffed at her. "You don't seem too bright either, friend."
The young woman laughed. "A southerner? Far from home, wander back before you get hurt." She snarled.
Before Toni could say anything back another voice silenced them all.
"WHO BROKE THE DANG WASHING MACHINE!" Haruko stormed in from a hallway. "I tell you people all the time, make sure your weapons aren't in the basket!"
She was halfway into starting an angry rant before she spotted Kaito. He got excited once he saw her look at him. "Who's kids are these?!" She shouted.
"Haruko! I was hoping i'd see you again." Kaito dramatically points at her. "Let's fight!"
The woman from before begins laughing again. "He really came all the way here just to get beat up!" She blurts and everyone in the guild hall begins laughing at them.
Dante sighs. "Great, we're a laughing stock. Not how I wanted to start this guilds legacy."
Haruko looks at Kaito for a moment before shrugging. "Alright fine, I don't have anything better to do."
Kaito happily begins running over to her, before Jin grabs his arm. "Haurko, are you serious?" He questions.
Haruko waves her hand. "Jin, it's fine. look at this happy kid, you really think he could hurt me?"
Jin sighs, before letting Kaito go. Which he instantly regretted because Kaito stuck his tongue out at him.
Haruko pats Kaito's hair. "Come on kid, we've got a room for stuff like this." Which he happily followed her to.
When they walk away, Bein just ignores everyone else and takes a seat at one of the tables. "From what I was feeling, that lady is about to kill him."
Dante flops into the seat across from him. "Yeah, well, she did floor him in one punch. That's kind of a clue."
Nanami stays quiet, all too aware of the attention flicking her way. She hides half behind a cup, pretending it's the most fascinating thing she's ever seen.
Then the woman with an impossibly wide grin breezes in, dragging two others with her. "Good to meet you!" she chirps. "Name's Jessie. And this angry little thundercloud beside me is my kid sister, Ashley."
Ashley folds her arms, giving them all a once-over. "None of you look like anything special."
Toni smirks, reclining a bit. "Well, neither do you friend, but here you are. Small miracles never cease."
Dante freezes halfway to his drink. Nanami shoots him a what are you doing? look.
Ashley narrows her eyes, leaning forward. "Big talk from a bard," she spits.
Toni doesn't flinch, grin widening instead. "Yeah. 'Cause unlike you, people actually like bards."
Ashley's fist twitches, but before she can swing, Patty scrambles between them, hands up. "Please don't fight! Not here! There's food!"
Dante elbows Toni hard. "In case you forget, genius, you can't fight!"
Toni sighs like he's the victim here. "I'm just makin' a friend. She started it."
Bein looks between them, deadpan. "If that's how you make friends, remind me never to be one."
Dante gestures at Ashley. "Yeah, maybe start smaller next time. Like, I don't know, don't insult the scary one with the murder-eyes."
Toni grins. "Where's the fun in that? Somebody's gotta keep things lively."
Though outside the energy was less than favorable, but inside the combat room. Kaito was all cheers. The room was massive, the kind of atmosphere that demanded a good fight.
Kaito shifted his weight, shoulders loose, eyes bright with anticipation. Across from him, Haruko stood almost lazily, one hand resting at her side, the other lifting in a small, almost dismissive gesture.
"Go on," she said. "I'll let you have the first hit this time."
There was the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. The last time they'd sparred, she'd dropped him before he'd even found his rhythm. This, clearly, was her version of generosity.
Kaito didn't hesitate. He burst forward. Not a step, an explosion. His foot barely seemed to touch the ground before he was already inside her range, arm swinging in a sharp, snapping arc toward her side.
Haruko's body reacted before her mind did. Her arm came up, intercepting the strike with a clean block.
The impact echoed.
And only then did her eyes narrow.
When did he move?
She hadn't seen the beginning of it. No shift in stance, no telegraph, no tell. One moment he was standing there, the next he was already mid-swing. Even now, as she held the block, she replayed it in her mind and found… nothing.
Kaito grinned, already pulling back, bouncing lightly on his feet. There was no stillness in him, no pause long enough to read. His movements were erratic, almost careless, yet somehow deliberate.
Haruko studied him more closely now.
Up close, she noticed the small things, the way his shoulders never settled, how his gaze flickered but never lost focus, how his rhythm refused to stay consistent. It wasn't just speed.
It was chaos.
And beneath that chaos… instinct.
"You didn't signal that at all," she said, lowering her guard slightly. "How are you doing that?"
Kaito blinked at her, clearly confused. "Doing what?"
"That attack." She gestured vaguely. "There was no setup. No pattern."
He scratched the back of his head, still lightly shifting from foot to foot. "I dunno. I just… go."
"'You just go,'" she repeated flatly.
"Yeah," he said, as if that explained everything. "My brother and I used to fight all the time. He's way stronger than me, so if I thought too much, I'd just get wrecked. So I stopped thinking."
Haruko tilted her head, watching him with growing interest.
Stopped thinking.
That wasn't entirely true, of course. No one moved like that without some kind of internal logic. But it wasn't a formal style. No discipline she recognized. No structure she could predict.
And yet.... it worked.
"…You're improvising," she murmured.
"Huh?"
"Never mind." A faint smile tugged at her lips. "Come at me again."
Kaito didn't need to be told twice.
He lunged in with another burst of speed, this time feinting high before twisting low, his movements jittery, almost disjointed. To an untrained eye, it might've looked sloppy.
To Haruko, it was… familiar.
Unrefined, but dangerous.
She stepped aside, letting his strike graze past her, then tapped his shoulder lightly as she moved. Not a real hit, just a reminder.
Kaito spun, laughing. "Whoa, you're fast!"
"You're unpredictable," she replied.
For a brief moment, their eyes met, hers sharp and calculating, but at the same time, calm and entertained, his bright and restless.
Then she moved.
The match ended almost immediately after that.
Haruko slipped past his next attack, redirected his momentum, and brought him down in a controlled motion. This time, she eased him to the ground instead of slamming him into it.
Kaito hit the floor with a soft thud, staring up at her in stunned silence.
Then his face lit up.
"That was awesome!" he said, practically bouncing back to his feet. "You didn't even try and I still couldn't keep up!"
Haruko exhaled quietly, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"I did try," she said. "Just not as hard as before."
But she was still watching him.
Still thinking.
There was something there.... something raw, unfinished, but undeniably interesting.