A Step Forward

Rokuro’s lungs burned as he turned and closed in on the central square again. The beast’s roars rattled the air, drowning out the shouts of the rebels trying—and failing—to drive it back. Rokuro didn’t let himself think and wimp out of the situation. He just dashed, almost blindly.

Blades and arrows still flew, but they bounced harmlessly off the creature’s hide. Rebels shouted orders, tried to hem it in, but nothing slowed it down. Debris rained down from splintered rooftops.

A shattered cart wheel rolled past.

His foot caught on a fallen beam—

No.

His body moved first.

The blindfold drills from the forest whispered through muscle and bone.

Step light. Trust the ground beneath you. React before you see it.

He vaulted over the beam, ducked under a collapsing signpost, rolled past a shower of falling tiles—each motion fast, instinctive, smooth. And through it all, he remained… calm. Eerily calm. His heart hammered against his ribcage but that didn’t faze him at all.

So that’s what diving into cold water and holding your breath helped with? Rokuro almost laughed.

The beast loomed ahead, steel-hide muscles shifting as it snapped a stall in half.

Rokuro’s teeth clenched. His gauntlet surged to life, crackling with light. This was his moment to strike.

“It’s him— The Lock!” One rebel announced.

“AAAAAH!”

Rokuro roared.

One step. Two. He drove his fist into its side—

WHAM.

The impact shuddered through his arm, the hide beneath his knuckles hard as plate. The beast staggered, just a fraction—but not enough. Not nearly enough.

It turned.

“Ah, crap…”

Eyes like molten iron locked on him. He had failed. Of course he had. He might have dodged a few blows and debris through instinct alone but deep down he was still the same powerless delinquent from Tokyo.

The swipe came faster than he thought something that size could move. A wall of muscle and claw slammed into him, and the world blurred. He hit a cabin hard enough to splinter the wall, the breath torn from his chest as he crashed through to the other side.

“The Lock…!”

“Agh…”

Rokuro spat dust, dragging himself out of the splintered wall. Every rib screamed. His legs barely wanted to hold him.

That thing is strong. Way too strong. How could he hope to defeat it?

If he kept going, he was gonna get flattened.

…But if he stayed down, everyone else would be in its path.

“Tch…” He wiped the blood from his mouth, forcing himself upright. “Guess I’ll be the idiot who buys time.”

A murmur rippled through the rebels holding the perimeter.

“He’s still standing?!”

“Idiot’s gonna get himself killed…”

Even if he were the same old delinquent, he couldn’t afford to sit on his ass while that beast tore Emberhold apart.

The beast’s shadow swallowed him again, claws raised to crush.

Rokuro planted his feet. No plan. No hope. Just stubbornness.

“Come on then… I ain’t running.”

The beast’s claw came down.

Rokuro rolled left—barely. The ground split where he’d been a second ago.

“Eat this!” He threw a punch with all he had. His gauntlet sparked on impact. The hide barely dented. But the beast turned its head. Its attention was on him now.

“Shit…!”

Another swipe. He ducked low, sliding on his knees through dirt and ash. A splintered beam nearly clipped him—he stumbled, then forced himself upright, panting.

Every step hurt. His legs wanted to quit.

“Is that… all you got… metal bastard?!”

The beast reared back, both claws ready to crush him flat—

SHRIIING—

A purple arc carved down from above, slashing across its flank. Sparks and blood burst in the air as Kagi landed in front of him, keyblade held low.

“Cutting it close, Roku,” she said turning towards him with a smile unlike her.

Before Rokuro could answer, a blur dropped from the rooftops—Lykos, spear in both hands.

The point drove straight down into the beast’s skull with a meaty THUNK. The creature bucked, roared, then toppled sideways, the ground shaking with the impact.

Silence, except for the crackle of dying flames.

Kagi turned, offering a hand to haul Rokuro up. “You did well, fighting it alone.”

He blinked at her, the words sinking in. He had fought it. Not perfectly. Not enough to bring it down—but enough to hold his ground. Enough to buy time for them to come. At least his resistance wasn’t in vain…

“If you consider being a punching bag ‘fighting’ then sure…” Rokuro scoffed.

Lykos stepped past, spear resting over his shoulder. He commanded the rebels to regroup and to tend to the wounded.

His eyes then met Rokuro’s, unreadable.

Before he could speak, Rokuro cut in.

“I…” Rokuro started, then bowed his head. “I’m sorry… For what I said this morning. I didn’t know and—”

Lykos gave a slight nod. “And I shouldn’t have spoken the way I did.”

Rokuro paused. The air between them felt like it had cleared completely in a single moment. It was like they had reached an understating without the need for long discussions.

“…Cool…” Rokuro felt at a loss for words.

Lykos turned to go, but paused.

“You stayed alive. Put your training to use. Moved with instinct. I saw it from afar.”

“You… did?”

“For all your whining, it sure paid off. You’re more hardworking than you look.”

“Hardworking?” Rokuro scoffed, “It’s probably the gauntlet helping or something.”

“It’s not.” Lykos simply said, “Trust me.”

A faint smirk tugged at Rokuro’s lips as the older man walked away.

“Don’t be late tomorrow.” Lykos added over his shoulder.

“Sure thing, sensei…”

Rokuro exhaled, looking at the still-smoking square as the rebels moved in to put things right.

Nero arrived a moment later, catching his breath, with Selka at his side. Neither interrupted—they just helped direct the rebels as the square slowly returned to order.

Lykos’ training had really paid off. Starting from tomorrow he’d have to double his efforts knowing that. And despite the physical strain it might cause him… Rokuro was somewhat looking forward to it.

“Guess, we oughta help…” Rokuro looked at the rebels already gathering at the square. “Where even were you?” He turned to Kagi.

“Talking about emotions…” Kagi smirked, “And trees.”

“…Your priorities are messed up.”

Thankfully the whole ordeal didn’t cause any casualties. Only a few people were injured and what was destroyed could easily be rebuilt. Emberhold had taken a hit, but it was nothing it couldn’t recover from.