“Masato?!” The word shot out of my mouth before I could stop it, my heart slamming against my ribs. I hadn’t seen him since middle school since our kendo days. He stood there, older, sharper, but unmistakably him. The angular cut of his face was still framed by that intense gaze, though his once-wild hair was now styled into a neat low fade. The narrow rectangular glasses perched on his nose gave him a more studious look, but the wooden sword at his side spoke to the fire still burning within.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, half disbelief, half awe.
He chuckled, the sound warm but edged with something more. “I go here now,” he replied smoothly. “Running into you though? That’s fate, my friend.” He paused, then glanced behind him.
Two figures approached. The first was a girl with vivid orange hair, her gaze sharp, confident. She was dressed in the archery club’s uniform, a bow strapped to her back, a quiver of arrows hanging at her side like she was ready for battle at any moment. The other was a tall guy in a tracksuit, the boxing club’s logo gleaming on his chest. He looked like he could snap someone in half with just a look.
“And them?” I gestured toward the newcomers.
Masato rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. “Right, introductions. This is Min-Ji,” he nodded toward the archer, who acknowledged me with a curt nod, her eyes already scanning the area, “and this is Lawrence, boxing club.”
Lawrence gave me a lazy wave, hands in his pockets. “What’s up?” His voice was calm, almost bored, like we weren’t about to face something dangerous.
Before I could respond, Masato’s expression shifted, the warmth draining from his face. “We should move. The others are waiting at the gymnasium.”
Min-Ji’s brow furrowed, her voice low but urgent. “We’re running out of time. They’ll be here soon.”
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“Who’s ‘they’?” I barely got the words out when I heard it—a low, distant growl. My blood ran cold. Masato’s gaze snapped to mine, deadly serious now. Without warning, he tossed me a wooden sword.
“Rei—catch!” His shout cut through the thickening air.
I barely had time to process before the sound of heavy, pounding footsteps echoed from the shadows. A dark shape slinked out of the alleyway, then another, and another. Hellhounds. Their glowing red eyes locked onto us, their growls reverberating in my chest. Their black fur shimmered with a menacing energy, each step filling the air with dread.
“Hellhounds?” I muttered under my breath, gripping the sword tightly. “Of course, it’s hellhounds.” Masato stepped up beside me, his posture relaxed but ready. “Nervous, Rei?” His voice was teasing, but his eyes remained fixed on the approaching creatures.
I shot him a sidelong glance, unable to hide the grin creeping onto my face. “Smug as ever. How about we make this interesting?” His eyebrow raised. “Oh? You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Whoever kills the most wins.”
Masato’s grin widened, the competitive spark reigniting between us. Before he could answer, Min-Ji groaned, notching an arrow. “Can you two stop flirting and start fighting?”
She didn’t wait for a reply. The string snapped as her arrow flew, embedding itself in the eye of the nearest hound. The creature crumpled without a sound, and Min-Ji smirked at us. “First blood. Try to keep up.”
“Challenge accepted.” Lawrence cracked his knuckles, his calm demeanor now replaced with laser focus. “I’m not sitting this one out.”
The first hound lunged at me. Instinct kicked in, my foresight activating as my eye glowed gold. The phantom trail appeared as I sidestepped the beast’s snapping jaws. With one fluid motion, I swung the sword into its side. The impact echoed through the air as the hound yelped and collapsed. I drove the blade into its skull for good measure. “One,” I called out, my blood pumping.
Masato was already in the thick of it, weaving between two hounds with graceful precision. His wooden sword cracked against one’s skull, and it dissolved into shadow. “Two,” he shot back, his grin maddening.
Lawrence, meanwhile, faced off against the largest of the beasts. It swiped at him with deadly claws, but he ducked low, delivering a bone-crunching uppercut that sent the creature staggering. A swift kick to its ribs and it hit the ground, motionless.
“Impressive,” I admitted, wiping sweat from my brow. Another growl pulled my attention to Min-Ji, who had just loosed her second arrow. It flew true, impaling another hound through the throat. “That’s two for me,”she said, not even looking back.
The remaining three hellhounds charged at once. Masato and I flanked one, cutting it down in synchronized strikes. Lawrence made short work of another with a brutal combination of punches, while Min-Ji’s final arrow pierced the heart of the last hound.
The fight was over before I realized it. The hellhounds' bodies disintegrated into ash, leaving only silence in their wake. We stood there, catching our breath. Masato wiped sweat from his brow and shot me a cocky grin "looks like I won.”
I shook my head. “Not so fast. I got two, you got two, and Min-Ji, what was it, three?” Min-Ji smiled, a rare look of satisfaction on her face. “Three. So yeah, I won.” Masato groaned dramatically, but the smile never left his face. “Fine, fine. You win this round.”
We stood there, the weight of the battle lifting, but a sense of camaraderie settling in its place. The real fight was yet to come.
[End of Chapter]