Shikōki Island—-
Sōshin continued to drive the boat, which had now caught up to some of the other racers. Zaria and Han entered the bridge.
"Phew!" Zaria remarked, brushing the sweat off her face. "How we looking?"
"We're doing better!" Rika cheered. "Great job, you two!"
More boats sped past them, bumping into the side of their vessel in the process. Sōshin noticed Komachi and Souji's boat in front of them, where the former was staring back at them with a cold look.
"Aww, she's glad to see us!" Sōshin beamed, waving to her from the bridge.
With a dismissive stomp of her feet, the entire boat nearly flipped over.
"Sōshin, PLEASE stop being friendly with the enemy!" Zaria begged. "That psycho girl is NOT happy!"
"Of course she is!"
Hakuryū continued to take notes behind them. "Chemistry is off. Figure it out or I will deduct points."
"No, no, no!" Rika pleaded. "We got this! Please don't mark us off!"
Rika shook Zaria. "Zaria, what do we do?"
"I could try that move again!" Zaria proposed. "Han, you down?"
Komachi side-kicked the air, causing an impact to hit the side of the boat and tilt it to the side.
"That gravity gremlin isn't gonna allow that," Han noted. "We need something else."
After thinking for a moment, Han formed his watches. "If we could get close enough to stun them, then that might give us the opening we need."
"I can do that!" Rei volunteered.
"Perfect!" Zaria realized. "Then I can kick this boat into high speed!"
The boat shook violently.
"Guys?" Rika interrupted. "You might wanna hurry with that!"
An asteroid headed straight for them, causing Sōshin to swerve around it.
Zaria, Han, and Rei hurried back above deck, and as the next asteroid came, Zaria broke it in half with her spear.
"This reminds me of Dokkōdan," Zaria recalled. "Same jerk energy."
"Don't remind me," Han muttered.
Rei held her hands up, and moonlight danced off them. "Leave it to me! I'll buy you guys time!"
"Thanks, Rei!"
Rei fired a pair of moonlight blasts at the back of the siblings' ship, tearing a hole through it and causing them to slow down. Souji quickly exited, noticing the damage.
"Shit, she blew the engine!"
"We're slowing down," Komachi informed him. "If we don't make a move, Sōshin's group will beat us."
"I've got an idea. Let's use our powers to keep it going."
"Okay."
They both spread out to either side, and Souji began firing a water torrent out of his hands, causing the boat to propel forward. At the same time, Komachi lifted her arm, and the boat began to almost bounce across the waves.
"You've gotta be kidding me—-!" Zaria gasped. "These bastards are literally jumping across the water!"
"Then we jump back," Han scoffed. "Get in position, they can't attack and drive at the same time. Damn idiots."
They went to the back, and Han attached his wires to the ship, which Zaria grabbed onto. "Okay, Round 2! These things sturdy, Han?"
"Obviously."
Zaria sprang into the air, swinging forward with all her force, and as soon as her feet hit the ship, she kicked off.
BOOM.
The ship burst forward, surpassing all the other ships in the process. Han caught Zaria as she fell, lifting her back onto the ship.
"Phew, thanks, pal. I almost lost my footing there."
"Uh-huh."
Zaria waved to the other ships as they approached the finish line, a large glowing flag in the distance. "Almost there! Just gonna maintain this pace!"
As they got closer, a large void appeared above their head, making all three gasp.
"Guys, watch out—-!"
THUD.
Souji and Komachi's ship dropped from out of the void, sending the group's vessel off course.
"Nice work, sis! Those losers didn't even see us coming!"
Inside the bridge, Sōshin hurried to stabilize the ship as it began spinning around in a circle.
"2 points off for making me dizzy," Hakuryū stated. "70/100. Lose any more points and you fail this race."
As Sōshin managed to realign the boat, Rika noticed the other ship nearly at the finish line. "They're gonna win! Guys! Guys!"
Han got on one knee. "No they're not."
He fired a wire at them. "Zaria! Put this thing with your leg!"
"How do I do that?"
"Just PULL!"
She hurried over, wrapping the cord around her leg and yanking it back, causing Souji and Komachi's ship to stop.
"What the—-?" Souji questioned. "That girl!"
He fired a water torrent at the two, but Rei shielded them with a moonlight shield. "Keep going, guys! You got it!"
Rika shouted up to them. "Careful, don't strain the boat! We can still go for second!"
"NO!" Han and Zaria shouted down.
Rei fired a blast of moonlight at the boat, but Komachi blocked it with an asteroid. "Guys? What's the plan?"
"Pull harder!" Han ordered.
"I'm trying!" Zaria insisted.
Rika turned back to Sōshin. "Sōshin, remove the line! We're not gonna beat them!"
"They have to let go, Big Sis Rika!" Sōshin pointed out. "I can't remove it!"
"Guys! Let go! We're gonna—-!"
Souji and Komachi used their powers at the same time, and just as Souji severed the line, Komachi launched an asteroid at the group, sinking their entire ship.
"Ha. Victory is ours!"
Using their powers, they crossed the finish line, and so did all the other racers. A loud horn sounded, and cheering could be heard in the distance.
Sōshin used his power to force the boat above the water, allowing the group to see the UI pop up.
〈Race Completed. Place: 11/11.〉
"Aw, well, we did our best!" Sōshin said, smiling.
Rika squeezed the water out of her hair as she watched Souji and his sister celebrate. "They didn't listen…they NEVER listen!"
"Big Sis Rika, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just…get us back to the dock, please."
Using his powers, Sōshin brought them back to the dock, where three medals were awarded to the winners. Souji and Komachi grabbed their first-place medal, and Sōshin clapped.
"Great work, guys!"
Souji ruffled his hair. "Long time no see, kid. Still whooping your butt like back in the old days, though."
"These new friends you have," Komachi remarked. "They are very flawed. They cost you a win."
"It's fine," Sōshin shrugged. "I'm not bothered!"
"It seems they don't share your view."
She pointed back to the group, where Rika was standing, arms folded, as Zaria tried to talk to her. "Rika? C'mon, we just wanted the win—-!"
"Well, you can't WIN everything, Zaria! Now we don't even have any sigils, much less 1,000! What were you and Han thinking?"
"Mr. Nyugawa doesn't want second placers," Han told her. "If we can't be the best, we're no good to him. What don't you get? To be worthy of being around him, we have to be like him."
"But, we're NOT Mr. Nyugawa! We never were, and we never will be! And if we can't even LISTEN to each other, we don't even deserve to be in his squad! Especially the two of you, you impulsive know-it-alls! You're not the leaders! He is!"
Rika threw her hands up, storming off. Rei waved to her. "Take your time, Rika! We'll be here!"
"Women," Han scoffed. "She'll cool off. Just moody as always."
Souji stifled a laugh. "Ha. What kinda team are they supposed to be?"
"Friend Omariro's team!" Sōshin answered. "I wanna be a part of it!"
"Omariro Nyugawa?" Souji paused. "Wait, like, THE Omariro Nyugawa? Dude. None of you comes even close!"
He examined Sōshin for a moment. "Well, you got some potential. And so does the moon girl. But those three? Pff, please."
He and Komachi began to walk away. "Anyway, see ya around, kid."
As they walked away, Rei walked over to Sōshin, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Where are we going now, Sōshin?"
"We've still got a few hours before it's time to head back! Friends can do whatever they want!"
"I'll just go train," Zaria said.
"Me too," Han added. "Away from everyone."
They split up, leaving Rei and Sōshin alone. Sōshin looked up at Rei. "Are they okay, Friend Rei?"
"Yep! That's what comes with being part of a team! Sometimes you have fights, but everyone usually makes up!"
"Oh, okay! How long will it take?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure it'll be short! Hey, can you show me more of the Island?"
"Sure!"
They both headed off to explore.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Roof—-
Marin and Nonoka both stationed themselves on top of a building, with a swarm of agents surrounding them.
"Is this high enough?" Marin asked.
Nonoka nodded. "Should be. Now I can track the surrounding area for her."
She looked around. "Wait, Mr. Nyugawa isn't here?"
"Odd," Marin commented. "He said he would be here with us. That man's always doing things at his own pace."
Her face briefly turned red. "Just like back then."
"Well, I'll get started and show him once I find her."
Nonoka took a knee. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Tsuiseki Kyōka Jōshō."
〈Tracking Buff: *Activated.*〉
She closed her eyes, focusing on Kohaku's face. "Huntress, Huntress…show me the Huntress…"
A brief hint of red flickered in the distance, but it was quickly snuffed out. "Damn it! Lost her."
"I thought you said you could track her if she's anywhere in the surrounding area? That includes all of Tokyo, no?"
"Yeah, but she must be in a dungeon. I can't track inside a dungeon from outside one."
"That could pose a problem," Marin noted. "We've still got quite a few uncleared dungeons around. She could be in any one of them."
Just then, Omariro suddenly appeared, staff in hand as he walked towards the two.
"There you are," Marin greeted. "Mr. Fashionably Late."
Omariro stopped in front of them. "Lion woman found?"
Nonoka shook her head. "I couldn't. We think she's in a dungeon."
"Dungeons Lion woman home. Hideout will be inside dungeon."
"Can we go searching in them, Sir?" Nonoka asked.
"Absolutely not!" Marin shot down. "For all we know, she could be leading you into a trap, and we don't know what she's capable of! Omariro, don't tell me you plan to confront her?"
"Not now. Girl need my help."
"Girl? What girl?"
"Girl Rika."
Nonoka got up. "Wait, sir, you're ditching me?"
"Girl can come. Girl likely unwelcome."
"What do you mean?"
"Island wary of outsiders. Capture chance high."
Nonoka took a deep breath. "I'm willing to take the risk. Better than being stuck here on my own. After all, my dad's on some new 'quest to get stronger' himself."
"Excuse me," Marin interrupted. "How long will this little trip of yours take?"
"As long as trip take. Come, girl."
Nonoka walked over to Omariro, putting a hand on his back as he tapped his staff, and they disappeared.
"And he's gone," Marin muttered.
An agent walked over to her. "Is it true you used to date him, Miss?"
"Yes…how lucky I was. He's such an enigma. Even to this day, I don't know much about him."
Hideout—-
Kohaku remained on her throne, when suddenly Kagetō hurried over to her. "Huntress! I've got word the Kaitansha are trying to track you down!"
Kohaku waved him off. "Please. Those puny men have no chance at finding this hideout."
"I know, but I have even worse news. Those dungeon dwellers want to lure you into a trap."
"Me? Who do they think they are?"
Kagetō handed her a sigil. "This was left at the entrance."
〈Sigil Ability: Transmission. Description: Allows for a live broadcast to be played to the holder.〉
Kohaku crushed it in her hands, and a holographic video appeared before her, with Rui at the center, surrounded by shadowy figures.
"Hello, Huntress!" he waved. "You've been a real thorn in our side, slaughtering our kin, taking over our dungeons, and now trying to marry our archenemy?"
"Speak your plight, creature," Kohaku ordered. "Or suffer my blade."
"Oh, big talk. Don't harm the messenger. My pals want you to pay a visit to Kagoshima. That's where we're all gathered. If you want us dead, that's your chance. Otherwise, we'll rip your little hideout into pieces, and then the old man after you."
He waved to her. "Ta-ta for now, Huntress."
The video ended. Kohaku grunted, grabbing a pair of blades.
"Boss?" Kagetō questioned.
"Gather the hunters. We're going to slaughter every member of the Mujinsha Elite, and then we'll extend a front row invitation to my future husband."
Kohaku stormed out of the room, her eyes shifting into those of a lion's.
"I'm the greatest hunter in the world. No one threatens me."
Claws briefly extended from her fingertips.
"No one."
——-