After lunch, the four of them start heading toward the Cherry Blossom Village, where they'll be helping the villagers for the night shift. On the way, they run into Anya, Karan, Vedant, and Jiya their fellow team mates.
Anya waves brightly, "Hey! What about your first mission ?"
Ruhi smiles, "We're just heading there. How about you guys?"
Karan groans dramatically, "Exhausting."
Vedant, trying to act cool beside Ruhi, adds, "Yeah, but nothing we couldn't handle."
Kian just raises an eyebrow and walks ahead without saying much, and Ekaksh laughs, "You're already tired? Wait till the real adventure starts!"
After a few more exchanges, they part ways and continue toward Cherry Blossom Village with the help of wind magic which except Aarav rest all had. Ekaksh uses his wind magic to help fly both of them.
Once they reach, the team decides to split into two smaller groups for better coverage. Instead of arguing over who pairs with whom, Aarav suggests, "Let's make it fair chits!" He quickly scribbles two 1s and two 2s on small bits of paper, folds them, and mixes them up.
Everyone picks one.
Ekaksh unfolds his and grins, "Number 2!"Aarav checks his, "1."Kian quietly looks at his chit and says, "2."Ruhi smiles, "Then that makes me 1."
So the teams are set Ruhi and Arav in one, and Kian and Ekaksh in the other.
They decide on a simple plan: since the night shift runs long, each pair will take turns resting. One member from each team will rest for a couple of hours while the other stays on duty, then they'll switch.
As they prepare to start, Ruhi says softly, "Let's make sure that we help villagers tonight."
Ekaksh grins, "Don't worry, Ruhi, with us around, no spooky thing stands a chance!"
Kian rolls his eyes but a faint smirk tugs at his lips, and Arav simply says, calm and confident, "Let's begin."
All four of them begin their night duty, helping the villagers with simple tasks checking around to see if anyone needs protection or assistance. Most of the villagers are safe and settled, except for one old granny who looks worried. She calls out to Ekaksh and Kian, "My rabbit ran away! Can you please find it for me?"
Kian nods calmly, "Alright, we'll look for it." But before he can even take a step, Ekaksh dashes off without thinking. He slips slightly, hits his elbow on a wooden fence, but still manages to catch the rabbit and gently hand it back to the granny.
The old lady smiles warmly, "Thank you so much, son. God bless you."
Kian folds his arms, shaking his head. "How can someone be so reckless? You just ran in without thinking and got yourself hurt. I swear, next time I'm partnering with Aarav, not you."
Ekaksh laughs, rubbing his elbow. "That's perfect. You partner with Aarav, I'll partner with Ruhi the best duo. You're happy, I'm happy."
Meanwhile, Ruhi and Aarav were patrolling the village. It's quiet there, with nothing unusual happening. Since it had rained recently, the paths are muddy and slippery. The villagers are struggling to clean them up, so Ruhi and Arav decide to help. Using their water magic, they clear the mud from the walkways, making the roads safe to walk again.
While cleaning, some water splashes onto Aarav, soaking his shirt. Ruhi looks at him and says, "My house is nearby. You can go and change (warriors always carry extra clothes) "
Aa.rav smiles slightly, "Yeah, that would help."
On their way, they run into Kian and Ekaksh. Ruhi notices Ekaksh's elbow and asks, "What happened to you?"
Ekaksh grins proudly, "Nothing, just saved a rabbit. A hero's job, you know."
Kian sighs, "Not a hero but rather a clown."
"Hey, don't say that!" Ekaksh protests, frowning.
Ruhi chuckles and says, "Anyway, Aarav's going to my place to change. You can go too there's a first aid box at home. Take some rest for a few hours, we'll handle things until then."
Kian nods. "Good idea. At least it'll be peaceful without Ekaksh jumping around."
Ekaksh just sticks his tongue out at him.
When they reach Ruhi's house, she rings the bell. Her little sister opens the door, squeals with joy, and jumps onto her. Aarav and Ekaksh both can't help but smile at the sweet scene. Then Ruhi's grandmother appears, her face lighting up at the sight of her. Ruhi hugs her tightly.
"Grandma, these are my teammates," she says warmly. "This is Aarav, this is Ekaksh, and that's Kian."
Her grandmother nods politely, smiling at them. Ruhi continues, "Actually, they need first aid and they will rest for a bit. Aarav wants to change, and they'll take a short break while we finish up our patrol."
Her grandmother gestures them inside kindly. Ruhi gives one last smile before heading out again.
Ruhi & Kian continued they duty for another two to three hours until it was time to switch shifts. Then Arav and Ekaksh took over the patrol while ruhi and Kian rested. The four of them kept rotating like this, each taking turns to rest and watch over the village through the night. By the time their full duty was over, it was already six in the morning.
Aarav used his spacial magic to return swiftly to the Topaz headquarters. Once they reached, they went straight to their room, completely exhausted. All of them collapsed onto their beds and fell asleep almost instantly. Ruhi, Arav, and Kian woke up around eight or nine, but Ekaksh, being his usual lazy self, slept until ten-thirty almost eleven.
When everyone was finally awake, they decided as they skipped breakfast they will go straight for an early lunch, or rather, brunch, since they were starving after the long night. After eating, Ekaksh and Arav went outside to practice their magic techniques together, testing their combinations and speed control. Meanwhile, Ruhi sat with Kian to help him strengthen his chakra flow, focusing mainly on balancing his Crown and Third Eye chakras to improve his concentration and mental clarity.
While helping Kian, Ruhi asked him to sit down comfortably in a meditative position. Her tone was calm but firm as she said, "Close your eyes and shut everything out. No sound, no thought, just peace. Focus only on the space between your brows your Third Eye."
Kian obeyed, sitting cross-legged on the floor. At first, his breathing was uneven, but under Ruhi's soft guidance, it slowly steadied. She explained that once the chakra started activating, a faint layer of energy would form around him a sign of balance and awakening.
It took time, but soon, a gentle shimmer surrounded Kian's body like a thin veil of light. Ruhi felt it immediately warm, stable energy radiating from him. Her lips curved into a proud smile. Most people struggled for weeks before finding such stability, often losing control and disrupting their chakra flow. But Kian, despite his usual arrogance, had managed to center himself on his very first try.
As he opened his eyes, she nodded approvingly. "You did it. Perfectly."
Kian didn't say anything, but there was a faint hint of pride in his eyes a rare, quiet confidence. Ruhi, encouraged by his progress, decided to work on improving her own chakra control, focusing on extending her mind communication radius.
They practiced until around five in the evening, each lost in their own training. Then, when it was time, they used magic to quickly reach the auditorium for their cleaning mission.
Inside, the large hall glowed dimly in the sunset. The four got to work Ruhi and Arav arranging the seats and polishing the floors with their water and wind magic, Kian handling the lighting adjustments, and Ekaksh… sulking.
He dragged the mop lazily, muttering under his breath, "I signed up to fight villains, not clean ." ruhi & aarav chuckled quietly, while kian rolled his eyes. "You'll survive," he teased.
"Barely," he replied dramatically, making everyone laugh.
By the time they finished, it was already getting dark. They packed up their things and started heading back. Halfway through, Kian suddenly stopped and frowned. "Wait," he said softly. "I left my bag on one of the seats."
He turned around and jogged back toward the auditorium. The hall was empty and quiet—or so it seemed. But as he approached his seat, he noticed two shadows near the stage, whispering something. Their voices were low but urgent, and the few words he caught made his heart skip a beat.
Whatever they were saying it wasn't ordinary. It left Kian frozen for a moment, shock flashing across his face.
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