Author's Note:Hayato says "glorious" 8 times this chapter. Shiori corrects him 7 times. The one time she doesn't correct him? That's when he's actually being serious. Find it.
POV: Ayumi Sakamoto
Word Count: ~1,900
Twenty-four days left, and Ayumi was learning that supernatural politics were just as exhausting as normal ones.
The warehouse Hayato's team used for training was exactly what she'd expected—abandoned industrial space, broken windows letting in shafts of dusty sunlight, enough open floor to practice without destroying anything important. What she hadn't expected was the folding table set up in the center with actual refreshments.
Tea. Cookies. Like this was a school club meeting and not a discussion about potential alliances between teams preparing for death matches.
"WELCOME!" Hayato bellowed, gesturing to the setup with his usual dramatic flair. "Please, sit! Partake in SUSTENANCE! We have much to discuss!"
"We have tea and cookies," Shiori translated, already pouring. "Hayato insisted on being hospitable."
"Hospitality is the foundation of GLORIOUS PARTNERSHIP!" Hayato declared, dropping into a chair that creaked ominously under his enthusiasm.
Ayumi caught Takeshi's expression—somewhere between amused and exhausted—and felt a flicker of solidarity. Leading a team of dramatic personalities was apparently universal.
They sat. Creativity Club on one side of the table, Sword Team on the other. Daichi looked half-asleep despite it being 4 PM. Shiori had a actual notebook open, pen ready. Hayato vibrated with barely contained energy.
Normal alliance meeting. Totally normal.
"So," Takeshi said, accepting tea from Shiori with a nod of thanks. "You mentioned information sharing. What do you know about the other teams?"
Shiori flipped open her notebook. "Six confirmed teams in Tokyo that we're aware of. Possibly more hiding, but these six are active and training openly enough to be tracked."
She slid a hand-drawn chart across the table.
CONFIRMED TEAMS:
1. Creativity Club (4/4)
Kaito Endo: Substance Manipulation Takeshi Ren: Reversal Akira Shirogane: Phase-Shifting Ayumi Sakamoto: Transformation
2. Sword Team (3/4)
Hayato: Destructive Sword + Fire Daichi: Kinetic Amplification Shiori: Barrier Creation [Fourth member: Unknown/unreliable]
3. Dark Water Team (4/4)
Nakamura Riku: Dark Water Manifestation Fujimoto Yuna: Crystal Projectiles Tanaka Kenji: Regeneration Field [Fourth: Unconfirmed ability]
4. Cold Eyes Team (4/4)
Sora: Psychological Manifestation Hoshino Aoi: Memory Manipulation Kuroi: Sensory Hijacking Yuki: Emotion Amplification
5. Vanguard (4/4)
Ryōma: Time Manipulation [Three others: Unconfirmed abilities]
6. [Unknown Team] (???)
No confirmed members Operates completely hidden Rumored to exist based on essence signature sightings
Ayumi studied the chart, her transformation training kicking in—observing details, cataloging information, building mental profiles.
"Cold Eyes Team," she said, finger on Sora's name. "That's the psychological warfare group. They attacked us this morning."
"Attacked?" Shiori's pen was already moving. "Details?"
"Sora showed up at our training spot," Takeshi said. "Alone. No backup. Just... talked. Psychological warfare. Planted doubt, triggered emotional responses, left before it escalated to actual combat."
"Classic Sora," Daichi muttered, speaking up for the first time. "He did the same to us two weeks ago. Showed up, said some cryptic shit about our 'inevitable failure,' demonstrated his ability by making Hayato see his sword shatter, then vanished. We didn't sleep well for three days."
"His ability is INFURIATING!" Hayato slammed his fist on the table, making the tea cups rattle. "Show me an HONORABLE OPPONENT with a BLADE and I'll face them with GLORY! But fighting someone who attacks your MIND? How do you defend against that?"
"You don't," Shiori said quietly. "That's why Cold Eyes Team is dangerous. They don't need to beat you physically. They just need to break you psychologically and you eliminate yourself."
The warehouse fell silent for a moment.
Ayumi thought about Kaito's shaking hands after Sora left. The black substance that had manifested, corrupted by emotional spike. The way his face had gone blank when Sora mentioned his mother.
Psychological warfare worked. And Sora was good at it.
"What about Dark Water Team?" Akira asked. He'd been silent until now, but his grey eyes were focused on Riku's name. "You marked them as 'neutral but dangerous.' Why?"
"Because Riku's playing a different game," Shiori said. "He's not hunting teams. Not testing people. Not making alliances. He's just... training. Hard. Like he knows something we don't."
"Maybe he does," Takeshi said. "Maybe all of us are operating on incomplete information and some teams know more about what's actually coming."
"WHICH IS WHY WE SHARE INTELLIGENCE!" Hayato declared, pointing at the chart. "Together, we piece together the puzzle! Separately, we stumble in darkness!"
"He's right," Shiori said. "For once."
"I am ALWAYS right! I am simply more RIGHT now!"
Shiori ignored him. "What do you know about the trials? Actual details, not just the countdown?"
Creativity Club exchanged glances.
"Not much," Takeshi admitted. "The message said 'prove your worth,' 'combat determines survival,' and 'only the strongest reach the Knowledge Point.' Everything else is speculation."
"Same information we got," Shiori confirmed, making notes. "Which means whoever's organizing this wants us operating blind. No prep time. No strategy. Just raw combat ability and adaptation."
"Unless," Akira said quietly, "the trials aren't just combat."
Everyone looked at him.
"Explain," Shiori said, pen poised.
"The message mentioned 'prove your worth,'" Akira continued. "Worth for what? If it's just about combat strength, why require teams of four? Why not just have everyone fight solo until one person remains?" He leaned forward slightly. "Teams suggest cooperation. Cooperation suggests challenges that require multiple ability types. Maybe the trials aren't just fighting. Maybe they're puzzles, obstacles, situations where you need four different skill sets to survive."
Silence while everyone processed that.
"That's actually brilliant," Shiori said, already writing. "If true, it means we need diverse ability coverage. Can't have four offensive fighters. Need balance."
"Which is why our teams are GLORIOUS!" Hayato grinned. "Creativity Club has offense, defense, infiltration, adaptation. Sword Team has destruction, amplification, barriers—" He paused. "And whatever our fourth member does when she ACTUALLY SHOWS UP."
"Your fourth member is unreliable?" Ayumi asked.
"She exists theoretically," Daichi said dryly. "We've met her twice. She manifested her ability, said 'this is too weird for me,' and disappeared. Comes to training maybe once a week. Hayato keeps hoping she'll commit."
"HOPE IS GLORIOUS!"
"Hope is impractical," Shiori corrected. "We're functionally a three-person team. Which puts us at a disadvantage."
"Unless," Takeshi said slowly, "teams can merge for specific challenges. Four from one team plus three from another equals seven total. Better coverage than four alone."
The political implications hung in the air.
Alliance wasn't just information sharing. It was potential combined operations. Safety in numbers. Strategic advantage.
"Is that allowed?" Ayumi asked.
"Message didn't say it wasn't," Takeshi pointed out. "Just said 'teams of four required.' Didn't specify teams couldn't cooperate during trials."
"I like how you think," Shiori said, making another note. "Conditional alliance. Information sharing, mutual defense before trials, potential cooperation during trials if situation requires it."
"EXACTLY!" Hayato stood dramatically. "Which brings us to the TRUE PURPOSE of this meeting! FORMAL ALLIANCE PROPOSAL!"
He pulled out a piece of paper that looked suspiciously like it had been written in crayon.
Shiori sighed. "Hayato, we talked about this. The crayon was not professional."
"CRAYONS ARE GLORIOUS!"
"Crayons are what children use."
"I am YOUNG AT HEART!"
Despite everything—the stress, the danger, the looming death matches—Ayumi found herself smiling. There was something refreshing about Hayato's unfiltered enthusiasm. No pretense. No careful control. Just genuine, loud, slightly ridiculous passion.
Must be nice to just... exist that freely.
Takeshi read the crayon-written proposal. "Mutual non-aggression pact. Information sharing. Combined defense against hostile teams. Optional cooperation during trials." He looked up. "This is actually reasonable."
"I CONTAIN MULTITUDES!"
"You contain volume," Shiori said. "Takeshi, what do you think?"
"We'll need to discuss it as a team," Takeshi said. "But provisionally, yes. This makes strategic sense. Creativity Club accepts the alliance proposal pending final team vote."
They spent the next hour hammering out details. Communication protocols. Emergency signals. Territory boundaries. What constituted "hostile action" versus "friendly sparring."
It was boring. Bureaucratic. Exactly the kind of organizing Ayumi was good at.
By 6 PM, they had a functional agreement.
"GLORIOUS!" Hayato declared, signing his name with a flourish. "Now! We celebrate with COMBAT!"
"Friendly sparring," Shiori clarified immediately. "Non-lethal. First blood or surrender only."
"FRIENDLY GLORIOUS COMBAT!"
They cleared the warehouse center. Creativity Club vs Sword Team. Demonstration match to test coordination and see how their abilities interacted.
Ayumi transformed into Rei—the MMA fighter from school—feeling the familiar golden glow spread across her skin. Features shifted, body composition changed, muscle memory that wasn't hers trying to assert itself.
She lasted four minutes.
Longer than last time. Better control. But her transformation started flickering at the three-minute mark, and by four minutes she was exhausted, mentally drained, head pounding with the effort of maintaining someone else's shape.
The transformation dropped and she stumbled, breathing hard.
"You okay?" Kaito caught her elbow, steadying her.
"Fine. Just... limits." Ayumi pressed fingers to her temples where the headache throbbed. "Can't hold transformations longer than four minutes yet. And it's getting worse. Three weeks ago I could manage three minutes before the drain felt this bad."
"You're pushing harder," Kaito observed. "Creating more complex transformations. Copying not just appearance but attempting to copy skill sets. The mental load is increasing."
He was right. She'd been trying to copy Rei's fighting ability, not just her body. Trying to access muscle memory that didn't exist in her own neural pathways.
Overambitious. Draining herself faster.
"I need a better method," Ayumi said. "Some way to maintain transformations longer without burning myself out. Otherwise I'm useless in any extended combat."
"We'll figure it out," Kaito said. Then, quieter: "Thanks. For this morning. For not asking too many questions about Sora."
"You'll talk about it when you're ready." Ayumi straightened, pushing through the headache. "Until then, we train."
They rejoined the group sparring session, and Ayumi noticed something interesting.
Takeshi used his reversal field once—to demonstrate combined defense with Shiori's barriers—and afterward he was breathing harder, sweat on his forehead despite the cool warehouse air.
The field was draining him. More than he let on.
Trump card, not standard tool. Good to know.
By 7 PM they called it. Alliance established, information shared, basic coordination tested.
Walking back through Tokyo's evening streets, Ayumi felt the weight of new information pressing down.
Six teams. Twenty-four people competing for something unclear. Some hunting. Some hiding. Some, like Riku, playing games nobody else understood yet.
And in twenty-four days, it would all come to a head in trials that might not even be straightforward combat.
Her phone buzzed. Group chat.
Takeshi:Team vote: Accept alliance with Sword Team? Pros: Information sharing, mutual defense, potential trial cooperation. Cons: Shared intelligence could be used against us, alliance might fracture under pressure.
Akira:Accept. Strategic advantage outweighs risk.
Kaito:Accept. Hayato's loud but genuine. I trust him more than I trust Sora.
Ayumi:Accept. Plus Shiori's organized and actually competent. We need allies who have their shit together.
Takeshi:Unanimous. Alliance accepted. I'll inform them tomorrow.
Ayumi pocketed her phone and walked the final blocks to her apartment, mind already spinning with new considerations.
Transformation longer than four minutes. That was the next goal. Extended duration without mental drain.
But how?
She didn't have an answer yet.
But she had twenty-four days to find one.
[To be continued in Chapter 15...]
Author's closing note:Count how many times Shiori writes in her notebook this chapter. Now count how many times she actually looks at what she wrote. The numbers don't match. She's not taking notes—she's doing something else. Wha
Alliance with Sword Team—smart strategy or future betrayal waiting to happen? Your take 👇
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