Chapter 8: — "First Strike: Part 2"

The hovercar hummed beneath us, gliding silently over the empty, abandoned area. The night air whipped past my face, my heart hammering in my chest. Kaito stood in front of me, one hand on the edge of the car, the other raised slightly, as if giving instructions to some invisible pilot.

“Hovercar!" he yelled sharply, "Fly faster!” The hovercar responded immediately, surging forward with an eerie smoothness. My stomach flipped. The ground below blurred as we skimmed past broken streetlamps and shattered concrete.

The drones, small but deadly, hovering just above the rubble were getting closer and closer. Their eyes glowed red as they closed in, weapons primed. My chest tightened.

“Shit… oh god… oh no…” I whispered, clutching Kaito’s arm. My fingers dug into his jacket. I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t breathe. I just wanted to cling to him, to hide and hope this nightmare would pass.

“Koi, Yuzuki!” Kaito barked, suddenly shoving me slightly away, not enough to throw me off, but enough to make my stomach drop. “This isn’t the time for cuddling sessions and praying!”

I blinked, stunned. “I-I’m scared!”

“You’re supposed to be helping me, not squeezing me like a teddy bear!” His voice was sharp, but there was a thread of calm authority underneath.

I nodded weakly, trying to steady myself. My hands still trembled, the blaster feeling impossibly heavy in my grip. I raised it, aiming at the nearest drone, but my fingers shook so violently I couldn’t keep the crosshairs steady.

Kaito fired his EMP blaster, a crackling arc of electricity leaping toward the drones. Sparks flew as several of them faltered, smoke curling from their joints. Some tumbled slowly, disabled and lifeless. The others swerved, regrouping for another attack.

“Yuzuki! Shoot!” Kaito yelled over the din, his eyes scanning the skies, pinpointing the next incoming drone. “Don’t just stare! Aim and fire!”

My stomach twisted, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to steady my breathing. The blaster felt like it weighed a ton. My hands shook so much that every shot wavered. Panic clawed at me. I didn’t want to die. Not here. Not now.

I muttered under my breath, voice trembling, “I… I can’t… I… what if I miss… what if I—”

Kaito slammed a hand lightly on my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. “You’re not thinking! Focus! If you freeze, you’re done. Now shoot!”

I took a shaky breath, forcing my trembling arms up, trying to line up the shot. The harder I tried to aim, the more my eyes blurred, and every drone that came closer made my chest tighten. Every red light flashing toward me made my knees wobble.

The hovercar surged forward again, this time narrowly dodging a hail of projectiles from the drones. Sparks erupted around us where Kaito’s blasts hit, lighting up the broken city like fireworks.

“Yuzuki!” Kaito yelled again, urgency thick in his voice. “Shoot now!”

I fired.

And missed.

I bit my lip, heart pounding, shaking so badly I could barely keep the blaster upright. The next wave of drones was coming fast, and I knew I only had seconds to get it right…

The hovercar wobbled slightly as drones zipped closer, firing sporadic blasts that made the metal roof of the vehicle spark. My hands were shaking like crazy as I held the blaster Kaito had shoved into my grip. Every instinct screamed at me to aim, to fire, but my brain just froze.

I squeezed the trigger. Nothing. The electricity fizzled harmlessly into the air, missing everything. My stomach dropped.

Kaito, ahead of me, didn’t even glance my way. His movements were precise, almost robotic, as he fired at drones swooping in from the sides. Sparks flew from the impact, and the whirring hum of the hovercar mixed with the crackle of electricity. He was calm, deadly, focused. Too focused for words.

“Step back,” he finally muttered, not looking at me. “Let me do this. You’re… not helping.”

I gritted my teeth, shaking. “I’m NOT just standing here! You’re my friend! And if I just watch, all the drones are gonna—”

“SHUT UP AND STEP BACK!” Kaito yelled, snapping as he blasted another drone into sparks. His eyes were sharp, teeth clenched, voice raw.

My pulse pounded in my ears. The tears I’d been holding back welled up, and in a surge of stubborn panic, I muttered under my breath, “I… I won’t just watch you get hurt… not you… not now…”

Before I even realized it, my finger squeezed the trigger. A jagged streak of electricity shot from the blaster.

It hit one drone... then, impossibly, arced through two more before grounding. Sparks flew, metal twisted, and the drones twitched, sparking wildly before dropping from the air with a smoking, dead hiss.

I froze, staring at the wreckage in disbelief. My lips trembled. “I… I didn’t—”

Kaito finally turned, eyes wide for a split second before a grin cracked his usually stoic expression. He gave a quick nod, then yelled over the chaos:

“OK… OK! YOU GOT THE FUCKING SPIRIT IN YOU, YUZUKI! SEE WHAT YOU JUST DID? YOU’RE A BEAST!”

I blinked. My hands shook violently. That wasn’t skill... it was luck... pure luck. I couldn’t believe what had just happened.

The moment passed too quickly. More drones circled in, their glowing sensors focusing on us. Kaito reloaded his weapon and powered his blasters, ready to intercept the next wave.

I swallowed hard, gripping my blaster tighter. The electricity in the air wasn’t just from the guns, it was inside me, buzzing through my veins, making my hair stand on end. Something deep down had flickered, a spark of instinct. A flash of what might happen next, but I didn’t fully understand it yet.

“Stay sharp,” Kaito muttered, scanning the incoming drones. His eyes flicked to me briefly. There was… a hint of respect there. Faith, maybe.

I gulped. “Yeah… I’ll… I’ll try.”

The hovercar dipped slightly as another drone swooped close. I tightened my grip and pressed my lips together, trying to calm the storm of panic and adrenaline.

Kaito continued to blast incoming drones, each shot precise, deadly. Sparks flew, metal twisted, and the sound of gunfire mixed with the whirring of the machines around us. My hands shook, gripping the blaster tight. I squeezed the trigger, missing more often than not, but a few shots found their mark. One drone twitched, sparks flying, before it plummeted out of the sky.

A small surge of pride washed over me. I… I was starting to get the hang of this. Maybe I could actually help.

Then… something weird happened. My chest tightened, and my mind felt… stretched, almost like I could see a few moments ahead. A tiny flash, a vision, popped into my head, unbidden. I froze, staring at the approaching drones, blinking rapidly.

What the hell was that?

It was confusing, strange, and a little scary. Somehow, I could see the near future without even touching the Oracle Sphere. My pulse quickened. Could this really be happening?

In the vision, a small drone, barely noticeable, crept around the hovercar. I saw it climbing, almost crawling, aiming for Kaito. In my mind, I saw him nearly lose balance, about to fall off the hovercar. My stomach twisted.

“Kaito! Left! There’s a drone there! Turn left!” I yelled instinctively, my voice cracking over the roar of engines and gunfire.

Kaito’s eyes widened, his movements immediate. He twisted to the left, and there it was. The tiny drone, climbing toward him, sensors glowing as it tried to snatch him from the hovercar.

“WHAT THE—?!” Kaito shouted in shock, but before the drone could grab him, he fired a precise shot from his electricity blaster. Sparks flew, and the drone lost its grip, falling and crashing to the ground below.

He turned toward me, eyes sharp, confused, and suspicious. “How… how did you know that was coming?”

I swallowed hard, my cheeks flushing. “It’s… nothing. Don’t worry about it right now—we have bigger things to handle. Drones… more drones… incoming.”

Kaito’s brow furrowed. He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to press me, but then glanced at the hovering machines circling us. More drones. Too many to ignore.

He muttered, almost to himself, “…Right. No time for questions.”

I exhaled softly, inwardly thanking the stars that he didn’t push further. My secret, the strange flickers of the future, the ability I still didn’t understand, was safe. The Oracle Sphere hadn’t even been involved. If Kaito knew about this, he might never look at me the same way.

—

Sparks flew past our faces, metal scraping against metal, and the air was thick with the smell of electricity. Kaito’s hands never wavered from his blaster, eyes locked on the swarming drones.

“Keep firing! Don’t let up!” he yelled.

I squeezed the blaster, trying my best. Some shots missed completely, sparks hitting nothing, but a few drones caught the brunt of my electricity, spinning and crashing down. My chest heaved, adrenaline pumping so hard I could barely think.

Kaito glanced at me mid-fire. His eyes flicked over my shaking hands, then back to the incoming drones. He muttered something under his breath, and then, almost too quickly, said, “Not bad… actually. You’re… improving.”

I froze. Did he just… compliment me?

I straightened my posture, puffed up my chest, and let out a cool, nonchalant sigh. “Hmph. Yeah, whatever. I know I'm a badass,” I muttered, pretending it was nothing. Deep inside, though, I was screaming. My crush… Kaito… just praised me. My heart was threatening to explode from excitement.

“Don’t… take it too seriously,” Kaito added, firing another shot. “It’s just a compliment.”

I swallowed and gave him a mock glare, though my stomach felt like jelly. “Uh-huh. Totally. No big deal,” I said, trying to sound tough. But my mind was still spinning, until a deafening explosion rocked the hovercar.

“What the hell—?!” Kaito cursed, eyes narrowing as he spotted the massive drone from before. Its sensors glowed menacingly, and it fired a blast directly at the hovercar. Sparks shot everywhere, and the hovercar lurched, slowing down, damaged.

I screamed. “K-Kaito! It’s... It's the drone from earlier!”

Kaito’s teeth gritted. He continued firing, electricity arcing from his blaster, but the massive drone barely flinched. I tried shooting too, but my shots felt useless against the behemoth.

“Come on! Come on... why isn’t this thing going down?!” Kaito roared, anger and frustration mixing in his voice.

Then it happened. The boss drone shot some kind of EMP. The hovercar shuddered violently as systems failed, lights flickering, engines dying. We plummeted slightly before Kaito grabbed me, holding me tightly against him.

“Hang on!” he shouted over the chaos.

My screams filled the air. “I’m gonna die! We’re gonna... AHHH! I’M GONNA FALL! KAITO! KAITO!!”

His grip didn’t falter. “Trust me! I’ve got you! Just hang on!”

The crash neared, and then Kaito did something that made my stomach drop like it was trying to escape. He held me even tighter and... jumped out of the hovercar.

“WHAT?! K-KAI... NO! STOP! WE’RE GONNA FALL!” I screamed, my voice breaking, trembling like a child.

But Kaito was already in motion. He fired his grappler gun at a nearby building, wires latching onto the side. Slowly, we swung toward it, my hands clutching his shoulders, my arms wrapped around him. My stomach twisted violently with fear.

“C-Calm down!” Kaito barked, holding me tight. “We’re safe! Just hold on!”

I couldn’t. My heart was racing, my panic surging. “I-I… I can’t… I can’t breathe… we’re gonna—!”

“Then stop thinking!” he shouted. “Trust me!”

Every swing felt endless. My fingers were pressed against his arms, my face buried into his chest. I couldn’t believe this was happening. The world felt like it was spinning too fast, yet I couldn’t look away from him.

Finally, we neared the building. Kaito fired the grappler again, embedding the wire into the glass wall. Slowly, we swung closer.

“Almost… there… hold tight!” he yelled.

I gritted my teeth, panting, gripping him like my life depended on it... because it did.

We slammed against the building wall, glass cracking under the force. Kaito used the grappler again to pull us inside.

As we landed, he lost his grip for a moment, and I froze. My hands shot out instinctively, clutching his. I stared at them, his hands… so solid, so warm, so real. My chest heaved. My mind felt like it was going to burst.

“I-I can’t believe that just happened…” I whispered, trembling.

Kaito glanced down at me, still catching his breath. “Stay down,” he said simply, gripping his blaster, scanning for drones.

I nodded, still staring at his hands, my fingers brushing against his, mind reeling from the near-death chaos and… the closeness. I didn’t even know if I’d recover from this moment ever.

Kaito and I crept carefully around the interior of the building, moving from shattered wall to shattered wall, trying to find any route out that wouldn’t leave us exposed. Every creak, every small clatter of debris made my stomach twist tighter. The adrenaline hadn’t left my system since the hovercar crash, and my hands still shook from clinging to Kaito.

“Stay close,” he muttered, eyes scanning the shadows. I nodded, gripping the blaster he had given me, though I was still trembling.

A faint, metallic shuffle echoed from somewhere deeper in the building. My head snapped toward the sound.

Kaito froze and raised his blaster. “There,” he whispered, voice low but tense.

I followed his gaze, heart hammering. “What is it?”

From the distance, something approached slowly. Sparks flew from its legs, joints creaking. It was a robot, broken, disabled, barely moving forward. Parts of its frame hung loose, wires exposed. Its single glowing eye flickered, struggling to stay lit.

Kaito didn’t shoot immediately. He just watched it, eyes narrowing. I raised my weapon too, unsure if we should fire.

“Is… is it okay?” I whispered, stepping closer, studying the robot.

Kaito shrugged slightly, still keeping his blaster aimed. “Doesn’t matter,” he muttered.

The robot stumbled forward, and then, bam! it suddenly got headbutted from behind. Sparks flew as it toppled sideways for a moment before regaining balance.

We both blinked.

Standing there, a grin plastered across her face, was Rin... our classmate. She dusted off her hands and exclaimed loudly, “Hah! HEADBUTTED!” Her eyes then swept over the distance, locking onto us.

I froze. Kaito froze.

Rin’s expression didn’t change. Not shocked. Not surprised. Just… calm. Calculated. Like she had been waiting for this exact moment.

We stared at each other.

No words were exchanged. Silence stretched between us. The broken robot stood twitching behind Rin, as if somehow allied with her, or maybe just collateral.

I swallowed hard, my pulse thundering. Something about Rin’s presence felt… deliberate. Controlled. Like she had been expecting us here all along.