Chapter 8 - A Hero's Utility

A slow, rhythmic beep assaulted the silence, mechanical and cold. Akari stirred, her eyelids feeling like they had been soldered shut. As the sterile white of the ceiling finally sharpened into focus, she felt a small, firm grip on her hand tighten.

She turned her head. Mei was sitting on the edge of a plastic chair, her face a mask of complex emotions that Akari really didn’t have the brainpower to decipher.

“Akari… is this going to happen every time?” Mei asked somberly.

“...No, of course not!” Akari forced a grin, though her facial muscles felt stiff. “I’m only gonna get stronger, and then I’ll be not only your hero, but everybody's hero! It’s a big part of being a Lucent, you know!”

Mei’s gaze dropped, her small fingers twiddling around the edge of Akari’s blanket. “Are you sure? I’m not so worried about you getting hurt, but—”

The TV mounted in the corner of the curtained room flickered to life, the blue light washing over the bleached linens. A woman in a sharp, slate-gray suit sat behind a familiar glass desk.

“Good morning, Japan! I’m Takemi, your local source for all things Lucent! Minamoto is slated to arrive in the Amatsu District as Imperator Zenith prepares for a special conference later this week. And in more recent news, Shinjuku’s reconstruction has begun after Lucent Akari Hoshizawa and her team dispelled the Blighted Zone! Make sure to thank her, because from Shinjuku to Fukuoka, it’ll be all sunny and clear skies for about a week! In other news, Helix and Orion—”

The screen went black as the remote clicked. Mei glared at Akari, her mouth opening to deliver a scolding, but the door hissed open. Kagemura stepped into the room, his shadow stretching across the floor. Akari pushed herself up. “Sensei…!”

“She’s stronger than you realize, little girl,” he said, his voice flat.

Mei redirected her glare toward him, her stare icy and direct. “With all due respect, Mr. Kagemura, my sister is not a weapon! She’s…” She turned back, seeing Akari’s confused but beaming face.

“She’s a hero,” Mei finished. “Don’t push her too hard, she’ll burn out.”

Akari waved it off, ignoring the heavy tension vibrating in the air. “I’ll be fine! I’ve handled worse!”

Kagemura folded his arms, his eyes fixed on the hospital monitors. “And on the bright side, Akari’s starting to gain a little fame. We need to talk, though. The others are waiting, besides Ami—she’s still recovering. Head on over now to the big hall in the training wing. I’ll catch up.”

Akari jumped out of bed, her enthusiasm acting as a temporary battery. “Sir, yes, sir!” She practically skipped out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the hall.

Mei remained, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”

Mei huffed, a sharp, audible exhale of annoyance. “I’m her sister. That’s different.”

“How so?” he replied, sounding vaguely amused.

“You’re her mentor! You should be guiding her, not feeding into this!”

He chuckled dryly. “Listen, kid. I don’t need a lecture on my teaching style from a five-year-old. Stick to toys and let me handle it.”

“Firstly, I’m eleven! Second, I’m not blind! I know that—!”

Kagemura’s hand was suddenly over her mouth, his movement so fast it was a blur. “Just shut up already. I don’t want to hear it.” A vein throbbed in Mei’s forehead, but she froze when she followed his gaze. He wasn't looking at her; he was looking up at a pinhole camera lens embedded in the ceiling tiles.

“She’ll learn by experience,” Kagemura said, his voice dropping to a low drone. “Words alone don’t convince girls like her.”

“And if it destroys her?” Mei asked solemnly.

“...Then her dream was never meant to be.”

Mei scoffed, pulling away. “You’re a bastard.”

“A compliment. And you’re one interesting little girl. I can only imagine what you two have been through since Akari’s vigilante days.”

“She just beat up some cultists and Blighted for cash,” Mei muttered, looking at the floor. “Are you gonna hold that over her head forever?”

Kagemura sighed, looking away toward the door. “No. But they might.”

He vanished instantly, the air displaced by his exit ruffling the hospital curtains. “...Goddamn it,” Mei sighed, exiting the room with a sullen look.

Behind a heavy curtain at the end of the ward, Ami peeked her head out.

What’s happening? I still haven’t recovered, but I could feel the intensity... like I would be crushed at any moment.

The door opened slowly, and Ami ducked back.

“Damn, girl left already,” a raspy, unfamiliar voice rang out.

“That’s too bad. But at least she’s none the wiser, thanks to a certain someone. Alright, moving on to Phase 2.”

Is someone after Akari? Ami’s heart hammered against her ribs. Okay, okay, think Ami… she was an ex-vigilante… that means she has enemies! I have always wanted to be a detective so I can be on this case! A determined glint flickered in her eyes.

In the vast hall of the training wing, the members of Team Hinomé stood shoulder to shoulder. The room was a mess—benches were overturned, and objects were scattered around as if a whirlwind had torn through the space.

“I looked at the footage of the battle, and while I was impressed… there are flaws you all have,” Kagemura spoke, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. “Flaws that, if you fought anything other than mindless beasts, you’d be dead.”

Flaws?! I did amazing out there! He’s crazy! Akari thought, her jaw tightening.

“Yuto, your body expends its water usage while you use your powers, so you’re prone to dehydration. You need to be more open-minded. Stop your weaknesses. All of you have them, so now you’re going to curb that.”

Akari cleared her throat. “So I’m good for today then!”

Kagemura glared at her. “You most of all need this. For instance, where did you learn to fight?”

Akari dropped into a wide fighting stance she’d practiced a thousand times in front of her bedroom mirror. “Self-taught! All from things I read as a kid! Pretty impressive, ain’t it?”

“That’s what I mean. You might be strong, but it’s your power saving you. Fighting with instinct alone is unsustainable without technique. C’mon. Try me.”

Akari rushed him. Her eyes darted to the side as she dashed behind him, putting her full weight into a punch aimed directly at his spine.

Kagemura stared straight ahead and simply stepped to the side, caught her wrist in a grip like a steel vice, and slammed her face-first into the floor. The impact made the room rattle.

“If you expect every opponent to be mindless, you’re dying before you get anywhere. Would the rest of you like to try?”

The room fell eerily silent.

“That’s what I thought. Seraphine, you can oversee this one.”

The mysterious girl stepped out of line, fluid with not a waste. “Yes, sensei!”

Rika turned to her with a look of pure confusion. “Where the hell have you been?! We almost died and you just show up with no explanation! Are you a ghost?! WHAT the hell are you?!”

“I’m your teammate. I thought that was obvious?” Seraphine responded, her head tilting curiously.

“Anyway… just keep in mind that Aether and Anima are two sides of the same coin. To master your Aether, you need to master your surroundings. To master your Anima, you must master the self.” Kagemura explained.

Akari, still pinned to the floor by Kagemura’s foot, raised her head. “That’s awfully vague!”

Kagemura released her, dusting off his jacket. “Because you kids don’t listen. If you want to find out, go around and be kids. I don’t care what you do, I have to check on something.”

He zapped away, leaving them surrounded by the scattered junk of the training hall.

Yuto walked up to a still glass of water, his fingers trembling as he raised it into the air. The liquid rose, shimmering, as he closed his eyes.

Rika nodded slowly. “He might be right. We need to think about how we use our abilities besides the most trivial uses. What is he planning, though…?”

Suddenly, the doors slammed open. A group of harried-looking staff members rushed in.

“Akari! Akari! Can you help us in the cafeteria?” “Misono-san, we’ve got damage in the dorm wing! We need you to repair the supports!” “Hayasaka-san, please, the medical department! We could use your help!”

The team looked at each other, their faces simultaneously twisting into scowls as they envisioned Kagemura’s snarky face.

“Kagemura…!” they whispered in unison.

The dormitory wing looked like it had been through an earthquake. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling of the main lounge, and gray ash coated the floor.

"Just... stitch it together?" Rika asked, staring up at a massive, sagging slab of drywall.

"Exactly," the foreman said, handing her a hard hat. "Your threads are stronger than steel, right? Get to it."

Rika raised her fingers, shooting a dozen silver threads upward to anchor them to the joists. But the moment she tightened them, the drywall crumbled further.

Shit, too thin… C’mon Rika, think! How did your family… Wait a minute. She wiped sweat from her brow. It's not about the strength of the thread. If I pull, I cut. I have to create a surface, not a line.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the vibration of her Anima. Instead of individual strings, she began to weave. She moved her hands in wide, sweeping arcs, spinning a translucent mesh—a gossamer net that spread the weight across thousands of tiny points of contact.

"Micro-vibration," she whispered. The web began to hum, the threads softening and broadening until they acted like a supportive fabric. The sagging ceiling groaned, then settled into the silver cradle.

"Not bad, kid," the foreman grunted. "Now do the other twelve rooms."

Rika balled her fist, a vein popping in her temple. That old man is going bankrupt after this…!

In the medical wing, Yuto stood before a medicinal pump.

"The internal valves are clogged with crystallized Aether," the nurse explained. "We need a high-pressure flush, but if the pressure exceeds 15 psi, the glass tubing shatters. We need to flush the Blight from their blood. It’s critical.”

Yuto stared at the fragile tube. Reduced to clean-up duty… How’d I let that moron surpass me…?

He placed his palm against the intake valve, sensing the stagnant water inside, blocked by jagged shards of energy. Gentle, he told himself. Don't push. Flow.

He nudged the water. The seal hissed instantly, dousing him in a spray of distilled water.

"Pressure is too high," the nurse said without looking up. "Try again."

Yuto gritted his teeth, water dripping from his chin. Unique applications… If I use my power for output, then… the reverse should work as well.

He focused, vibrating the water at a frequency that matched the crystals. Slowly, the shards began to dissolve into the flow.

"There," Yuto exhaled. Surface tension… Am I…?

As he finished, his eyes drifted to the back of the ward. A door sat slightly ajar: RESTRICTED: LONG-TERM CARE. Inside, he saw the silhouette of a man sitting motionless by a bed.

...Kagemura?

The nurse tapped his shoulder. "Next machine, 'savior.' Chop chop!”

I will surpass her, Yuto thought, his gaze lingering on the restricted door. But I won’t do it on her terms.

The cafeteria was a disaster. The power grid was flickering, and the industrial ovens were stone-cold. Five hundred hungry trainees were storming the counters, chanting Akari’s name.

"You're the new famous girl, aren’t you?” the Head Chef barked. "Keep this cauldron at exactly 100 degrees. If it boils over, the soup is ruined. If it drops, the meat stays raw."

Akari rolled up her sleeves, a smirk on her face. "Easy! They called me 'The Bomb' back in middle school!"

She placed her hands on the iron. Her orange Anima flared, a light so bright it could be seen from the hallway.

A pillar of steam shot to the ceiling. Akari peeked inside; the soup had turned into a black, scorched crust. The scent of burnt onions and thick smoke filled the air.

"OUT!" the chef screamed, swatting at her with a ladle. "I asked for a simmer, not a goddamn supernova!”

Akari stood in the smoke, her hair sizzling. Simmer? I don’t simmer! I burn! At full force! But then again…

The sun can burn… but it lights the way, too.

She walked back to the second pot, closing her eyes. She focused on the vibration of the atoms, burning but not bright. For the first time, her mind went quiet. She touched the pot again. No light flashed, but slowly, tiny bubbles began to dance at the bottom of the broth.

"Aha! Look! It’s simmering!"

"Less talking, more heating!" Moto yelled.

...Where did I learn that phrase? Am I forgetting something? Eh, it can't be important. I’ll do my best!

The sun was finally dipping below the horizon, casting long, bruised shadows across the dormitory. Akari trudged down the hallway, her boots feeling like they were made of concrete. She smelled like a combination of burnt onions, industrial soap, and the faint, ozone tang of scorched hair.

I did it. I made the soup simmer. I’m basically a Master Chef now, she thought, her eyes half-lidded. A hero of the kitchen…

She pushed open her dorm room door. Mei had already transformed her side of the room—books lined up by height, a small lamp casting a warm glow over handwritten notes. Mei was sitting on her bed with her tablet in hand.

"You look like you fought the dragon again," Mei said, jumping down with a damp towel. "And lost to a giant… onion?”

"Kitchen duty," Akari groaned, collapsing into her bed. "But I learned... control! Turns out, being a Lucent is more than just blowing things up… It’s weird.”

Mei began wiping the soot off Akari’s forehead with maternal precision. "Akari, listen. People are talking. You’re getting really famous now, I just don’t want you to get overshadowed one day…”

Akari chuckled, patting Mei’s head. "Look at you, using all those big words! Don’t worry your cute little head. I’m the hero, remember? Takes a lot to dim me out!”

She’s so adorable when she tries to act like a grown-up, Akari thought. I have to keep winning so she never has to actually grow up.

Mei’s hand paused. She sighed, a sound far too heavy for a girl her age. She knew Akari wasn't listening—not really.

It’s for her sake. I won’t let her get hurt. She reached for a glossy, gold-embossed envelope on the nightstand.

"Fine… maybe you'll listen to this," Mei said, her voice gaining a bit of childish excitement. "You have a fan club, Akari. A real one. 'The Sun-Seekers.' They’re fanatics!”

 "A fan club?! Already?!"

"And an invitation," Mei added,  "For you and Team Hinomé. You’ve been requested for a live-streamed interview at the Amatsu District’s main tower. By Lumen and Bolt!"

Akari’s jaw dropped. The envelope slipped from her fingers.

"Lumen and Bolt themselves…! It’s like a dream come true!" Akari gripped Mei’s shoulders. "Mei! This is it! This is what we’ve dreamed of! And it’s only been three days!"

Mei smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. A deep-rooted, bad feeling was forming in her stomach, but it was momentarily dispelled by her sister's beaming face.

"Yeah, Akari," Mei whispered, leaning her head against her sister's shoulder. "It’s happening. You’re going to be a star."

Kagemura’s wrong… You don’t need to wake up. Just… be happy. "Get some sleep, Hero," Mei said softly. "You have a big day tomorrow."

Chapter 8 - The End.