Instinct

After Hoshina breaks Waissu's balance once more, he falls face-first onto the floor.

"Looks like I win again," she says, sitting on a bench.

"You've gotten quite skilled over the years, I admit that much."

Jogi steps through the door, her practice gear on. "Just admit there's nothing else you can teach her and be done with it."

Hoshina turns to her. "Hi, Jogi."

"Sup." The two sisters exchange a fist bump.

Waissu clears his throat. "The fact that Hoshina can defeat me doesn't mean she's the better warrior."

"Are you for real?" Jogi glares at him as if he's worthless. "What's gonna be your excuse when I start beating your ass?"

"I won't have one. You're a more well-rounded warrior than her, you just lack experience and body mass."

"Is that a roundabout way of calling me short?"

Waissu exhales and glances at Hoshina. "Can we talk for a moment?"

"Alright." A brief silence follows as Hoshina stays seated.

"I mean in private."

"Eh? Can't Jogi stay? You two make for a great show whenever you are together."

"The coward is just hoping to trick you into believing he's better," Jogi adds. "And he doesn't want me around to call out his bullcrap."

"Fine, Jogi can stay."

Her sister raises an eyebrow. "You really giving up so easily?"

"I just want to get this over with." He turns to Hoshina again, tiredness evident in his expression. "You're trying too hard to be something you're not."

She tilts her head. "What do you mean?"

"Feints that make no sense, openings that practically scream bait—and overall, a clumsy, mediocre attempt at imitating your father."

"But he is the strongest warrior alive, it makes sense to learn from him."

"You aren't learning anything, you don't even understand what you're trying to copy."

"Are you calling my sister stupid?"

Waissu waves Jogi off. "What I'm trying to say is that you're not the calculating type, so you should just follow your instincts when fighting."

"I am following my instincts."

"There's no point in lying to me."

"I am not lying."

"My sister is many things, but not a liar." Hearing this, Waissu crosses his arms.

"Perhaps..." he starts, then shakes his head. "No, never mind. All I know is that your current fighting style isn't suited for you. If you want to improve, you need to find a way to overcome your bad habits."

"Don't pay him any mind, sis. He just can't admit you've surpassed him long ago." Hoshina shrugs in response, and Waissu sighs again.

"I tried. If you want to ignore my advice, go ahead."

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

I do follow my instincts when I fight. Why would he think otherwise? Waissu's words linger in her mind for only a few minutes before more important matters take priority.

Her second battle is drawing near.

A maid enters with a trolley carrying the necessary items for the battle and begins adjusting Hoshina's armor.

Once she's finished, the maid hands her the cane and the gem box from the table.

"I just realized, I don't recognize you," Hoshina says, looking at the maid.

"I am new."

"What happened to the other maid?"

"She's sick."

"Alright. Wait, why is a new maid handling—?" Ikusagami's voice erupts, forcing her to cover her ears.

"It's time for you to go, Miss." The maid bows and leaves, never handing Hoshina the helmet on the cart.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

They're back. The moment Kaji hears the signal from their island, he walks toward the meeting point at an easy pace. He hasn't had much time to reflect on Gurumi's words from yesterday, but there's something he wants to ask Hoshina if they meet again.

Civilians run in the opposite direction, all evacuating.

As Kaji joins the other elite recruits, the drill instructor hands each of them a wand.

It doesn't matter which type he receives. When no one's looking, Kaji swaps the gem from the wand into his hidden cane. Once the battle begins, no one will have time to wonder where he got it from.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

Huh? This is weird.

As the warriors from both sides shoot and fight like their lives depend on it, Hoshina gets a familiar feeling.

The screams of the injured make her heart race. She flinches when a nearby girl is shot in the head. The sight of the girl's face—what's left of it—tightens her throat.

What is going on?

This is a real battle, a fight between warriors on equal terms—just like the one she witnessed with Waissu a few weeks ago. So why does she feel this way? Shouldn't she be exhilarated by being here?

She isn't allowed more time to dwell on her thoughts. Mr. Kuruma gives the signal, and Hoshina, along with three other equipped warriors, dashes toward the enemy using their propulsion boots.

Soon, she spots a target: a boy, barely an adult. As she aims her cane at him, she's reminded of Kaji. At the last second, she switches the setting on her cane from thunder to earth and shoots the boy in the leg.

Kaji should be my first kill. He deserves it.

Besides, it doesn't matter whether the four of them kill anyone or not. By simply dashing around, they disorient the enemy enough for their allies to breach their line of defense and start gaining ground.

It's fine. I made the shot, I could've easily killed the boy If I wanted to.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

As the enemies breach the gates and enter the city, the battle transforms into a chaotic game of hide-and-seek among the buildings.

Kaji's group is ordered to split up and do whatever they can to stall the enemy's advance.

It feels as though their superiors have already given up on the city and plan to use them as sacrificial pawns to escape.

Kaji has no intention of dying. But he won't retreat without a fight either. He'll find a few isolated enemies, deal with them swiftly, and back off before they start organizing.

His wand, though unable to shoot, is excellent for deceiving enemies. Anyone who sees it assumes he has no way to use barriers or thunderbolts. In battle, even the smallest mistake can mean...

That Kaji stains his hands even further.

Every time he meets eyes with someone a second away from death, he feels as if he's losing something when he pulls the trigger.

It's a sensation that shakes him to his core.

Turning a corner, he comes face to face with a young woman about his age. She's startled, her reaction slow—giving Kaji just enough time to tackle her and knock her to the ground.

She drops her weapon as she falls, and now defenseless, she covers her head, trembling.

Kaji clicks his tongue. "Why are you even here?"

"I-I… my boss told me to…"

"I don't mean your orders. "Why are you in this fight? Do you even want to be here?"

"That... I don't," she says, lowering her hands and meeting Kaji's eyes. "But I can't run away. I am a warrior!"

She tries to spring to her feet and strike, but Kaji pulls the trigger without hesitation.

This is getting too easy…

It's time to withdraw.

Just then, Kaji remembers—he needs to leave his gemless wand and take the one lying next to the body.

But as he turns back toward the eighth life he's claimed, his knees go weak.

The blank eyes, though unfocused, are fixed in his direction.

Staring at him.

Accusing him.

He covers his mouth and ducks into the nearest house.

With no time to find a better spot, Kaji drops to his knees in the middle of the room as his stomach heaves, forcing up a burning mixture of rice, meat, and bile.

His insides burn. His head spins. His hands turn slick with sweat.

Why are we doing this? What's the point in any of this?

After confirming there's nothing left to throw up, he wipes his face and stands, ready to escape this nightmare—until he hears something.

"Miss Hoshina, new orders for you," says a foreign voice just outside the house. "You're needed out of the city, on a different front. Follow me."