"It's a pleasure."
What a strange way to introduce yourself to an enemy. This thought passively lingered in their minds, but it was no time for such distractions.
"We've been looking for you for a while," the man continued in the same soft tone. "It's a shame we couldn't meet sooner, my dear cousin."
He took a step toward them, and they immediately went on guard.
"No need for that," he said. "Let's just resolve this peacefully."
"Says the guy who attacked us first," Miyuki shot back. "What makes you think we'll trust anything you say?"
"I saw an opportunity, and I took it," he replied. "Does that automatically make me a bad person?"
"Why are you here?" Takae cut in. "Why chase after someone as insignificant as me?"
The man smiled.
"At first," he said, "you were meant to be killed on sight, but it seems my big bro hesitated to take you out."
"Now, for whatever reason," he continued, "the king himself wants to see whether you'll be worth anything to him before taking you out."
After staring at her for a moment, he added, "I know this is out of context, but you really do look like her."
"—like your mother, I mean. That is, minus the ears and fangs."
"What are you talking about?" Takae asked, confused.
He sighed. "It's only natural you wouldn't know anything about her. Especially since she died when you were so young."
The confusion on her face persisted.
"I can still remember that day," he continued, his tone more serious, his gaze darker. "The day that bastard hanged her from a tree with the head of what was your fake corpse sewn onto her chest."
Her grip on her sword tightened. "Why are you telling me this? What do you hope to gain from making me angry?"
"It's the opposite, really," he replied. "Though I wasn't that close to her, I can vouch that she was a good person. Better than us, at least."
"I won't forget that day," he continued. "Nor the feeling of hate that came from it toward my father."
"Such despicable filth!" he went on, lost in his words, almost as if forgetting his surroundings completely. "Filth like him shouldn't be allowed to exist. But ironically enough, it's people like him who hold all the power."
"Or is it the power," he continued, "that drives them to such insanity that they enslave their own children and hunt down their own family?"
"If that's what you think of him," Takae said, "then why serve him in the first place?"
"Right now, there's no way for him to get to you," she continued. "Why don't you just leave it all behind and never go back?"
"If only that were possible," he replied. "But unfortunately for us, his hold reaches deep into our souls. Even if we wanted to escape, it would be impossible."
"That's why I'm doing this," he continued. "Even though we have nothing against you personally, we have to do this—because it's either you or us."
"So nothing we say can change your mind?" Miyuki asked.
"I'm afraid not," he replied. "So it's either you cooperate with us and come peacefully, or we'll have to do this the hard way."
Takae eased into a fighting stance after drawing her sword. "I guess there is no other choice, then."
The air between them tightened—
and then—
---
Amidst the sound of splintering wood and falling debris, Izumi lay in the ruins of the house, his body covered in cuts.
He tried to stand—then he heard it.
"There's no way this is happening," he thought. "Damn it!"
Outside, Kenji slowly approached the house, his footsteps steady, his breathing controlled.
Then he heard movement from within.
He paused, anticipating an attack—but what came next was not what he expected.
Izumi burst from the debris. Instead of charging, he ran in the opposite direction.
Kenji remained still for a moment, caught off guard. Then, without overthinking it, he moved to strike from behind.
A whip of energy lashed out toward Izumi—but just before it could connect, it was deflected off course.
The one who intercepted it was none other than Yuriko.
She stood in front of the retreating Izumi, her body marked with cuts, blood running down her forehead. Still, she held her ground, sword pointed at Kenji, not once looking back.
"I can't believe this is happening," Izumi thought as he kept running. "Why did you have to hide in there of all places?"
Unseen from behind, his retreat wasn't driven by fear.
Moments earlier, as he struggled to rise from the wreckage, the sound he heard—the one that unsettled him—was the crying of a little boy.
Torn in that instant, he had no choice but to grab the child and run, trusting Yuriko to hold the line until he could come back.
She understood without words.
Despite being outmatched and already injured, she stepped forward to shield him, buying him time.
She had no other choice.
So she fought with what little she had left—holding on for as long as she could.
"The evacuation area…" Izumi thought as he ran. "I can sense someone else there… probably an enemy."
"I have to find somewhere else to hide this kid—and fast."
He glanced back over his shoulder.
"Just hold on, Yuriko. I'll come back as fast as I can. I swear."
"Mhh, some partner you've got there," Kenji commented as he faced Yuriko. "Who would've thought he'd leave you out to dry like that."
"Shut up! You don't know the first thing about him," she shot back. "And he's not just some partner—he's my brother, and I won't let you spew your shit over his name."
"Is that right," he replied, raising an eyebrow, "well, that doesn't change the fact that you're alone now."
"You could barely take me on when it was the two of you," she said, "so what makes you think you have a chance now?"
Yuriko smirked. "Don't get too cocky. All you saw before was just a glimpse of what we can do when we go all out."
"Then show me the full picture," he replied. "I doubt it'll be any different from the glimpse I saw before."
Kenji leveled his whip, the air around him beginning to hum with a violent, restrictive pressure.
Yuriko didn't flinch, even as the wound on her forehead dripped into her eye, blurring her vision red.
She pointed her sword at him and took a silent breath.
Then, she lunged.