The clapping didn't stop.
Slow. Deliberate. Definitely amused.
Daiki's shoulders tensed as the sound cut cleanly through the silence that was left after the stampede. Ren stood in front, his stance just as tight. Yui gripped the talisman tightly under her uniform.
Three figures emerged from between the trees.
They didn't rush.
Didn't hide.
They approached.
Slowly.
A girl stood in front of the rest, walking with an easy, confident pace, boots crunching softly against the loam.
Pale skin.
Sharp blue eyes.
Long ash-blonde hair tied back loosely, strands slipping free around her face.
Her blazer was unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up just enough to be almost irritatingly casual.
She didn't stop clapping.
"Sehr schön," she said lightly, then tilted her head.
"That was... how you say... very efficient."
Her Japanese was fluent... but off. The cadence wrong. Certain vowels stretched a bit too long, and consonants clipped just enough to be audible.
Daiki blinked.
"..Uh..."
The tall boy beside her stepped forward half a pace and bowed.
He had dark brown hair that was put into a very unique, traditional style.
Two strands of hair in front of his face were wrapped, while the rest of his hair flowed behind his head down to his neck.
He looked... Perfect.
Very formal.
Respectful.
"My apologies," he said calmly. "I am Haruto Ishimori from Class 1-B. My teammate is also from Class 1-B. Her name is Ayame Wolfsburg."
The third one didn't bow.
She loudly cracked her neck instead.
Shorter than the other two, broad-shouldered, stance loose but coilded.
She had bright red hair that was wild and unkempt, sleeves torn off her uniform like they'd annoyed her one too many times. She looked past Harruto, past Ayame.
Straight at Ren.
"....That it?" she said flatly. "He stopped that big, scary stampede?"
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"You're... welcome?"
The girl scoffed.
Ayame stopped clapping at last, hands folding behind her back.
She smiled.
Not warmly, but not cruelly either.
Calculating.
"So," she continued, eyes flicking briefly to Yui's chest before returning to Daiki's face.
"Class 1-F, ja? I was wondering what you would look like."
Daiki frowned.
"You don't even actually know that."
Her smile widened.
"No. But you look like it."
Yui stiffened.
Ren shifted his weight.
"You got something you want, or did you come to applaud my forestry work?"
Haruto inhaled softly.
"We are here for the same reason as you."
Ayame nodded.
"The talisman."
Her gaze sharpened, just a fraction. "Give it to us, and we can all walk away. Very civilized."
The wild-looking girl laughed.
It was loud.
Sharp.
Annoyed.
"Wow! You're really doing the talking thing?" She said, rolling her shoulders. "I thought you were joking."
Haruto glanced at her.
"Kana—"
She ignored him. Her eyes dragged over to Daiki, then Ren.
"Boring guy and buff dude," she said. "You two look like you hit hard."
Daiki smirked unintentionally.
"You volunteering?"
Yui muttered, "Daiki—"
Kana grinned.
"Oh, definitely."
Ayame sighed theatrically.
"Kana, bitte. Let me finish."
Kana waved her off.
"Nah."
She stepped forward.
Just one step.
But for some reason, the air seemed to tighten around it.
"Ya know," Kana continued, hands dropping to her sides, fingers flexing, "we could keep chatting. Orrrrr, we could skip to the part where I knock one of you through a tree."
Her eyes lit. Not glowing, not yet—but something behind them woke up.
Daiki swallowed....
"...Well,"
And then he smirked.
"It's a good thing we're not giving you shit."
Ayame sighed.
"Pity."
Haruto exhaled, planting the butt of his naginata lightly into the ground.
"If this must be resolved by force... then we will fight honorably."
Kana cracked her knuckles.
"That's adorable."
She leaned forward.
And moved.
No warning.
No shout.
Kana just exploded off the ground, dirt blasting behind her as her foot dug in.
She closed the distance in a heartbeat, fist already cocked back, body wreathing in a faint pulse of Reiki as veins popped through multiple spots of her skin, painfully visible.
"MOVE—!" Ren shouted.
Daiki didn't think.
Surge kicked in like a light switch flipped halfway.
His heart slammed.
Blood roared.
The world sharpened.
His fists clenched.
Kana's punch came like a cannonball. It was raw, brutal, and straight to his chest.
Daiki twisted, shoulder slammed into her forearm as he redirected the blow. The impact still rattled his bones, sending him skidding back a step through the dirt.
Kana was laughing mid-motion.
"Oh, that felt GOOD—!"
Ren was already moving.
He slammed his palm into a nearby tree, Reiki flaring across his skin as bark and wood surged up his arm, reinforcing it into a thick mass.
He swung—
A wall of pressurized air[1] sliced between them.
Ren's strike stopped immediately.
Haruto stood in front of him now, the tip of his naginata pointed right at him, ready to strike Ren as soon as he moved.
"Enough," Haruto said firmly. "You will not strike them from behind."
Kana clicked her tongue.
"You're such a buzzkillllll, Haru-Kun."
Ayame watched the chaos unfold with bright, delighted eyes.
"Oh," she murmured. "This is happening a bit too fast."
Yui stepped back, heart racing, talisman warm against her skin.
Daiki rolled his shoulders, breath coming fast, the grin that was on his face before now gone.
The forest was holding back before...
Now it's erupted.
[1] Haruto's Ketsugojin, Whirling Wind, allows him to project and manipulate wind and control the air around him to a certain extent.