The wind carried a strange silence that night.
Not the peaceful kind—
—but the kind that made your instincts whisper something is wrong.
Three figures walked along a narrow dirt path, their shadows stretching under the dim glow of the moon. The road to Tsukishima village lay ahead, a journey that would take at least two to three hours on foot.
Yet with every step they took, the air seemed to grow heavier.
Shizuma led the way, his gaze fixed forward, sharp and unyielding. His oath burned quietly within him—to sever all evil, no matter the cost.
Beside him walked Arai.
Calm. Composed. Unshaken.
Her presence alone carried a quiet authority, the kind that didn't need to be announced. Even the wind seemed to move around her rather than against her.
Behind them followed Tetsuya, hands loosely at his sides, his eyes scanning the surroundings with practiced awareness.
For a while, none of them spoke.
Only the sound of footsteps echoed through the empty road.
Then—
"You've been quiet."
Arai's voice broke the silence, smooth and steady. She didn't look at Tetsuya, yet her attention was entirely on him.
Tetsuya glanced up slightly. "I could say the same about you."
A faint smirk touched Arai's lips. "I speak when it matters."
Shizuma didn't turn, but his voice cut in calmly, "We're heading into our first real mission together. Understanding each other isn't a bad idea."
Arai tilted her head slightly. "Exactly."
She finally looked at Tetsuya.
"So… what's your story?"
For a moment, Tetsuya said nothing.
The wind passed through them again—colder this time.
"…Fine," he muttered.
His gaze drifted ahead, but his mind was clearly somewhere far behind.
"My family," he began, his voice steady but distant, "were Fragment Hunters."
Arai's expression didn't change, but her eyes sharpened slightly.
"They hunted Fragment users without hesitation," Tetsuya continued. "To them… it didn't matter who you were."
"Good or evil… innocent or guilty…"
"If you had a Fragment—"
"You were a target."
Shizuma's eyes narrowed.
"That's not justice," he said quietly.
Tetsuya let out a faint, humorless chuckle. "Yeah. I told them that."
A brief pause.
"They called it duty."
"I called it slaughter."
The tension in the air thickened.
"I argued with them… over and over again," Tetsuya went on. "But they never listened. To them, power itself was the problem."
Arai crossed her arms, her gaze steady. "So you left."
"…Eventually."
Tetsuya's expression darkened slightly.
"One day, I was walking alone," he said. "No destination. No plan."
"And then I saw it."
Shizuma slowed his pace just slightly.
"A Fragment," Tetsuya said.
"It was lying in the middle of the road… small, almost harmless."
Arai's eyes narrowed. "That's how they lure you."
"…Yeah."
Tetsuya flexed his fingers unconsciously.
"I got closer. I didn't sense anything dangerous at first."
His voice dropped.
"But the moment I reached out—"
"It started vibrating."
The atmosphere shifted.
"And before I could react…"
"It shot straight into my shoulder."
Shizuma stopped walking.
Arai's gaze locked onto Tetsuya.
A faint tension lingered in the air.
"That's how I got it," Tetsuya said, placing a hand over his shoulder. "The Fortress Fragment."
Silence followed.
"I knew what would happen if I went back home," he continued. "They wouldn't see me as family anymore."
"Just another target," Shizuma said.
Tetsuya nodded once.
"So I made a choice."
"I came to Ein Kage Dan."
Arai raised an eyebrow slightly. "Without being a member?"
"…Yeah."
A faint breath escaped him.
"But the moment I reached their gates…"
His tone changed.
"My Fragment reacted."
The wind picked up, swirling dust along the path.
"My aura went out of control," he said. "It started distorting everything around me—the ground… the air… even the gates themselves."
Arai's expression grew serious now.
"That's when he showed up, right?" she asked.
Tetsuya nodded.
"The leader of Ein Kage Dan…"
"Kaizen Dravik."
Even Shizuma's focus sharpened at the name.
"The moment he sensed the disturbance, he rushed to the gates," Tetsuya continued. "And there I was…"
"A 17-year-old kid… barely holding himself together."
A brief pause.
"And without hesitation—"
"He used his Kiyora."
A faint intensity filled Tetsuya's voice.
"He stabilized the Fragment… suppressed its distortion… and brought everything back under control."
Arai exhaled softly. "Sounds like someone worthy of leading."
Shizuma remained silent, but his grip tightened slightly.
Tetsuya looked ahead again, the memory settling.
"He didn't ask questions."
"He didn't hesitate."
"He just… saved me."
The wind calmed slightly.
"And then…"
"He took me in."
Silence returned to the trio.
But it was no longer empty.
It carried weight.
Meaning.
Connection.
Far ahead, faint lights began to appear in the distance.
Tsukishima village.
Their destination.
Shizuma's eyes sharpened.
Arai's expression turned focused.
Tetsuya's steps slowed slightly.
Because all three of them felt it at the same time—
Something was waiting for them there.
And it wasn't human.
TO BE CONTINUED...