The Sentari training grounds were alive with noise—metal striking metal, shouted laughter, the sharp thud of bodies hitting the dirt.

  Aira sat off to the side on one of the benches, legs swinging idly as she watched her friends train. Yoru was in the middle of the field, focused and fierce as she tested out her new weapon against Kairo, who was already making a dramatic show of it, rolling across the ground as if he’d been mortally wounded. Amari and Lev cheered loudly from the sidelines, Runa joining in with unrestrained enthusiasm.

  Every time one of them glanced her way, Aira shot them a thumbs up and a wide grin, heart warm and buoyant. She loved moments like this.

  She was mid cheer when she felt it.

  Movement. Quiet, unassuming, out of place amid the chaos.

  Aira turned her head and spotted Hyakki approaching the bench. He moved without hurry, his presence subdued compared to the lively training ground around him. His eyes tracked the spar with mild amusement, lingering briefly on Kairo’s theatrics before flicking back to her. When their gazes met, he offered a small, easy smile.

  Something in her chest loosened. She scooted over immediately, lighting up as she waved him closer.

  “Hey,” she greeted, bright. “You’re late. Again.”

  He sat down beside her, letting out an amused breath. “They’re not even done training yet,” he said. “What do you mean?”

  Aira laughed, nudging him with her shoulder. “Still later than me though.”

  “All right,” Hyakki conceded, lips quirking. “You win.”

  She grinned and turned her attention back to the field, content just to sit there with him. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed moments like this until after they’d reconnected. Aira watched the spar with interest before glancing sideways.

  “You didn’t join the Sentari?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Nah. Combat really isn’t my thing. And TA work keeps me pretty busy.”

  Aira raised an eyebrow. “You literally collect pocket knives.”

  “I don’t use any of them,” he said smoothly. “It’s just for aesthetic.”

  She laughed. “Fair enough. I guess it’s kind of the same for me. I like analyzing combat, but I don’t think I’d ever want to seriously learn it.”

  Hyakki nodded, unbothered. “That’s totally fair. Some people just prefer to watch.”

  Aira hummed softly to herself. She felt Hyakki shift beside her. The bench dipped slightly under his weight, his attention drifting toward the field in the same idle, observant way hers had.

  “I met Gabriel the other day,” he said casually. “He’s your brother’s friend, right?”

  Aira perked up immediately, turning toward him.

  “Friend?” she echoed, amused. “That’s underselling it. Best friend. Possibly more important than me, honestly.” She grinned. “So, how was he?”

  Hyakki tilted his head, thinking. There was a faint curve to his mouth, like he was entertained by the question.

  “Interesting,” he said after a moment. “Nice enough. Definitely knows how to command a room.”

  Aira laughed and leaned back on her hands. “Oh yeah, that tracks. Gabriel’s kind of infamous for that. He’s… a lot. You can’t really ignore him even if you try.”

  Hyakki nodded, amused. “I noticed. He really seems to enjoy freaking people out.”

  “That’s because he does enjoy it,” Aira said immediately, sitting up as if personally summoned by the accusation. “I swear he does it on purpose. It’s funny to him. And honestly? It works. He freaks me out sometimes.”

  Hyakki hummed. “Yeah. I can see why people find him unsettling.” He paused, then added, almost thoughtfully, “Personally, I think it’s kind of fascinating. Is your brother dramatic like that too?”

  Aira snorted. “Absolutely not. Akio’s the total opposite. Calm. Collected. Zero theatrics.” She tilted her head, considering. “I guess opposites attract?”

  Hyakki glanced at her sidelong. “That kind of sounds like you and Yoru.”

  Aira shot him a look. “Are you saying I’m loud and dramatic?”

  “Potentially,” he replied, mock innocent.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  She grinned, flashing a peace sign. “I’ll take that as a compliment. So, wait—you don’t think Gabriel’s weird?”

  Hyakki considered that, eyes narrowing just slightly.

  “Oh, he’s definitely something,” he said. “He just feels… familiar. Like I’ve met him before. Or heard of him. Might just be my memory playing tricks on me.”

  Aira shrugged, unbothered. “Honestly? That checks out. He’s kind of well known for being a cheerful menace. You probably saw him around at some point.”

  Hyakki nodded once, though a flicker of something unreadable passed behind his eyes. “Yeah. Probably that.”

  Aira swung her legs lightly beneath the bench, heels tapping against the metal rung as her gaze drifted between the training grounds and the quiet figure seated beside her.

  “Man,” she said with a small laugh, tipping her head back to stare at the sky, “I really want you to meet Akio. It’s kind of ridiculous that you haven’t yet. You two are always busy at opposite times. Every time he’s free, you’re not and vice versa. He’s literally the only one left in the friend group you haven’t met. Oh, and Damien too, I guess.”

  Hyakki hummed thoughtfully. “That’s Yoru’s brother, right? Unfortunate timing, then.”

  “Seriously,” Aira said, rolling her eyes fondly. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees. “What do you even do in your free time? There’s no way being a TA keeps you that busy.”

  He chuckled softly. “You’d be surprised. Lab setups, assistant research, grading assignments… it adds up. It’s definitely more than people expect.”

  Aira let out a long breath. “Huh. Fair enough. I wonder what Akio does in his free time. There’s no way student council is that demanding, right?”

  The conversation lulled as the Sentari shifted into a new drill. Aira watched her friends train, pushing themselves harder with every repetition.

  “I still can’t believe they let everyone become Sentari this year,” she said suddenly. “All because of the vigilante crackdown.”

  She hesitated, fingers curling together.

  “And I really can’t believe the Hollow actually came back.”

  There was always a twinge when she said that name. Something personal. A mix of resentment and unwanted curiosity that she never quite managed to untangle.

  “I’ve been looking at all the new footage,” she continued, voice thoughtful now. “It’s using different weapons. It fights completely differently—less like a beast and more like a human.”

  Hyakki glanced at her. “A human?”

  “Yeah,” Aira said, nodding slowly. “I mean, the old Hollow already kind of fought like one, but it leaned way more into the M.A.W. It surrounded itself in it. Unleashed it constantly.”

  She frowned slightly. “Now it feels… restrained. More deliberate. Like it’s holding back.”

  The thought unsettled her more than she liked to admit. Before, the Hollow had felt like a thing born of the M.A.W.—an entity, a force. Now, its movements were purposeful. Elegant. Smart in a way that felt disturbingly intentional.

  What if it’s not just a monster? What if it’s a person… or something becoming one?

  Aira exhaled and shook her head, pushing the spiral away.

  “Well,” she said, forcing a lighter tone, “either way, the Twin Hounds are going to be really busy. And Echo’s probably going to take advantage of that—try to wear them down while everything’s chaotic.”

  Her gaze softened as she watched the drills resume.

  “I just hope they can catch the Hollow before then,” she murmured. “And stop it for good.”

  For a moment, the two of them simply sat there. The training grounds rang with distant noise, but it all blurred into the background. A soft breeze picked up, brushing strands of hair against Aira’s cheek as she stared ahead, eyes unfocused. She wasn’t really watching anymore.

  There were too many unanswered questions sitting heavy in her mind. Too many half-truths and loose ends that felt like they were finally starting to pull taut. The journalist part of her was thrilled, but another part of her was afraid.

  Because finding the truth also meant accepting it. And she wasn’t sure she’d like what she found on the other side.

  “Hey… can I ask you something?”

  Hyakki’s voice cut gently through her thoughts.

  Aira turned toward him. He was leaned back against the bench, one arm draped loosely over the side, posture relaxed but distant. His crimson eyes weren’t really on the training grounds or on her. They looked somewhere far away, like he’d already wandered deep into his own head.

  “Sure,” she said. “What’s up?”

  He hesitated, then asked quietly, “Do you think people can change?”

  Aira blinked, a little surprised. “Like… in general?”

  He nodded. “Sort of. I guess… more in terms of redemption.”

  She leaned back, gaze drifting upward to the open sky as she thought it over.

  “Hmm.” A small hum escaped her. “I think it depends on the person.”

  She spoke slowly, feeling the shape of the thought as she said it aloud. “People mess up all the time. I don’t think it’s fair to hold a single mistake over someone’s head forever. That just traps people in who they used to be.”

  Hyakki tilted his head, listening closely.

  “But,” Aira continued, more firmly now, “I also think it’s naive to believe everyone is capable of change. Some people make the same choices over and over again. At that point, it’s not a mistake—it’s a decision.”

  His gaze sharpened slightly. “What do you mean?”

  She glanced back at him. “Someone doing something bad once is very different from someone who keeps doing it. If they’re consciously choosing to hurt people again and again, no amount of forgiveness is going to fix that.”

  Her fingers curled together in her lap. “If anything, it just teaches them they can get away with it.”

  “What if they regret it?” Hyakki asked. “Or condemn what they did?”

  Aira shook her head gently.

  “Feeling bad about something is one thing. Acting on that regret is another.” She offered a small, rueful smile. “Words are easy. Change isn’t.”

  Hyakki nodded, a faint smile touching his lips. “Yeah, that’s totally fair.”

  Aira studied him for a moment, curiosity nudging aside her earlier thoughts.

  “You don’t usually get this philosophical out of nowhere,” she said lightly. “What got you thinking about all this?”

  He gave a small shrug. “I picked up a book about human nature recently. Nature versus nurture. Whether people can really change. It just… got me thinking. I wanted to know your take.”

  Aira laughed, the tension easing. “After all these years, you’re still kind of emo, huh?”

  Hyakki let out an amused breath. “I guess that answers my question.”

  A sharp whistle cut across the training grounds, followed by a chorus of groans and relieved laughter. The drills slowed, then stopped entirely, Sentari dispersing in loose clusters as instructors called it for the day.

  Aira blinked, pulled back into the present.

  “Oh,” she said, pushing herself up from the bench. “Looks like they’re finally done.”

  She stretched her arms over her head, tension easing from her shoulders. “Thank god. I don’t think I could’ve watched Kairo throw himself at the ground one more time.”

  She glanced at Hyakki and flashed him a grin. “C’mon, let’s go join them.”

  Hyakki stood as well, brushing dust from his clothes. “That’s the plan.”

  Aira laughed and stepped ahead, falling easily into stride beside him as they headed toward the others. The earlier heaviness faded, replaced by familiar noise and warmth—friends calling out, hands waving them over, voices overlapping in excited post-training chatter.

  For now, at least, things felt normal.

  And Aira let herself hold onto that as long as she could.

  ─ ? NEXT CHAPTER POV ? ─

  Yoru / Lyla