The new day greeted James and Lauren with the promise of sunlight and a mild ocean breeze that washed away the remnants of the previous day’s annoyance. Eager to make the most of their return to civilization, they decided to start with breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, a luxurious space bathed in the morning light filtering through large windows.

Sitting at a table overlooking the hotel's lush gardens, they luxuriated in the simple pleasures they'd missed. The menu was a far cry from the rugged meals they'd grown accustomed to in the Everglades. The sight of fresh fruit - bright oranges, ripe strawberries, and glistening blueberries - was almost as refreshing as the taste. They each ordered a stack of pancakes. The fluffy, golden-brown disks soon arrived drenched in maple syrup and butter, accompanied by a side of fruit.

"God, I missed this," James remarked with a contented sigh, cutting into his pancakes. The sweet scent of syrup mixed with the tang of citrus was a welcome change from their recent diet, which had been heavy on scavenged meats and whatever they could forage.

Lauren chuckled, popping a strawberry into her mouth. "You and me both. I thought I'd turn into a piece of jerky if we stayed out there any longer."

"It'd be difficult to dry you out completely. It's just too humid." James answered distractedly, earning a slap on his shoulder.

"Hey!" He called.

"Are you calling me too fat to become jerky?" Lauren asked, shadows falling on her eyes and giving her a dangerous feeling.

"What?! How did you get that from what I said? It was just too humid to dry meat out!" He defended himself, befuddled. Then what his senses were telling him finally filtered through, and James realized Lauren was taking the piss.

She exploded in laughter, holding her stomach. This continued for several seconds, and James could only sigh, annoyed.

"You know, for a psychic, you aren't very good at reading people's minds." She finally got out in between rounds of chuckles.

James rolled his eyes, "It's not like I constantly keep an eye on your thoughts; it'd be creepy. Also, who wants to be inside your head all the time?"

Another slap followed the proclamation, though this one at least was deserved.

Once they were done, they decided to take advantage of the beautiful day by taking a stroll through Miami Beach.

Luckily, their hotel wasn't too far, and they only needed to walk for a minute before the sea became visible. The beach was alive with activity, the sand warm under their feet as they walked along the water's edge. They each carried a coconut they had gotten from a nearby stall, sipping the sweet water through straws. It wasn't something James did often, but given their surroundings, it felt appropriate.

The sound of the waves, the laughter of families enjoying the beach, and the occasional cry of seagulls created a tapestry of sound that was both lively and soothing.

As they walked, they turned their thoughts to the task at hand. "Before we confront those two bastards, I want to know more about the Clearsky Guild," James said, squinting against the sunlight reflecting off the water. "Understanding their operations might give me an edge. They work as consultants, so their hands should be all over the guild."

Lauren nodded in agreement, watching the people skate by, "Absolutely. Even if they are still D-ranks after all this time, they probably have a lot of tricks up their sleeve. And to be honest, I'd be surprised if they haven't reached C-rank. You said they were already Awakened soon after the Apocalypse. They had too much time to stagnate."

James hummed, though he wasn't convinced, "I agree that I shouldn't underestimate them, but I also shouldn't give them too much credit. They retired from active duty years ago, and they are proven cowards. The world is full of people who got some experience in the early days because they had to fight and stopped when they could. They sit comfortably behind those who bleed against the tides and simply don't have the chance to get stronger."

As James and Lauren continued their stroll, the pleasant distraction of their surroundings couldn't keep James's acute senses from picking up on an anomaly. The subtle shift in the air, a faint ripple of intent directed towards them, was enough to put him on high alert.

James used his telekinesis to tap Lauren's arm in a specific pattern Team 0 had agreed upon for silent communication without breaking stride or drawing attention to their sudden change in conversation. The sequence informed her that they were being tailed. Ever perceptive, Lauren caught on immediately, her slight nod confirming her awareness of their situation.

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Without missing a beat, they casually altered their path, steering clear of the bustling crowds of Miami Beach. They aimed for quieter streets, where the potential for unwanted spectators diminished.

James's mind worked furiously to strategize, but outwardly, he maintained an air of nonchalance. He focused his psychic senses on their pursuers, parsing through their minds for any scrap of information that might reveal why they were following them and who they were.

There were four D-ranks. They were following orders and hadn't simply started following out of their own volition. They had been informed that James and Lauren were also D-ranks, and they felt confident in their chances because of their numbers. Their minds were surprisingly open to James's probing. It didn't take long for him to piece together their intent: intimidation, driven by a desire for revenge.

Images drifting to the top of their minds pointed towards an affiliation with the Rhododendron Guild. Which meant the incident from the previous night likely spurred this.

James steered them through the Miami streets with an expert's ease while keeping a mental tally of their followers' movements. They threaded through less frequented alleys and side streets, always mindful to avoid leading their tails into too desolate an area that would make them wary. The goal wasn't to vanish but to find a setting where a confrontation could occur without risking civilian involvement.

The chosen alley was secluded enough to avoid prying eyes yet not so remote as to signal a premeditated trap. As they entered, the four figures finally made their move, stepping out from the shadows with bravado.

James turned to face them, expressing mild curiosity rather than concern. Lauren, by his side, mirrored his calm, though her eyes sparkled with a hint of amusement at the would-be ambush.

"Can we help you?" James asked, his voice carrying through the alley with a confidence that belied their numerical disadvantage.

The leader of the group, a tall, wiry man with the uneasy stance of someone who was only recently given a commanding role, stepped forward. "New people usually know to keep their heads down for a reason. You've messed with the wrong guild," he blustered, though the falter in his voice did little to sell his threat.

"Do you often get sent to intimidate newcomers?" James asked curiously. Rifling through the man's mind told him it was only the third time this happened that he knew, as Awakeners didn't often move cities if there wasn't a good reason. Joel Yusuf, the leader of the four, had been a mere mook the last time, but he could vividly remember how his boss, who had been a C-rank, had enjoyed beating up the lone Awakener who had made the mistake of not presenting himself before one of the local guilds.

The situation with the guilds seems a bit different here in Miami. In New York, they act like thugs when they can get away with it, but usually, they know not to bother people too much. There is a status quo of sorts, and the AA acts as a counterbalance. Here, they are much more present on the territory and probably war amongst each other just as much as with the local branch.

The leader's eyes narrowed at James's question, a hint of annoyance flickering across his features as he struck a nerve. "Just shut up and come with us. You need to apologize to the guild for what you did yesterday," he demanded, his tone attempting to convey authority he didn't truly possess.

Lauren scoffed at the notion, her posture relaxed yet ready. "Apologize? For defending ourselves? I think not," she replied, her voice laced with disdain.

The tension in the alley spiked as the four D-ranks from the Rhododendron Guild realized their intimidation tactic was failing. They spread out with practiced ease, attempting to close off any avenue of escape. It was a maneuver they had clearly been instructed in, but their confidence seemed misplaced against James and Lauren's calm demeanor.

All of a sudden, the air exploded with heat as the furthest one began to conjure fireballs, shooting several in James and Lauren's direction while keeping a couple orbiting around himself. Simultaneously, the two on the sides raised their hands, sending gusts of wind toward the burgeoning flames, intending to amplify their destructive power.

James watched the display with some surprise. Initially, he dismissed the group as inconsequential, but their coordinated attack displayed a level of competence he hadn't expected. Still, they were well within his and Lauren's capabilities to handle.

With a focused application of his telekinesis, James intercepted the fireballs mid-air, snuffing them out before they could reach their intended target. They were barely at the same level as Maria's casual ones, and that was when she was an E-rank. Now that she had reached the next tier, the difference with the two fire mages would be abyssal. The empowering wind came through too late and simply ruffled their clothes.

Meanwhile, Lauren vanished into the shadows, a skill she had honed to near perfection under the tutelage of Mr. Julian. She reappeared behind the fire mage, her arms reaching out to encircle his throat in a silent, lethal embrace. The mage's eyes widened in shock, his casting disrupted as he struggled against the sudden, suffocating darkness. He tried to use the remaining fireballs to dislodge her, but Lauren expertly maneuvered around, avoiding the fiery conflagrations.

James seized the opportunity to press forward, his psychic senses guiding him through the battlefield with precision. Yusuf turned out to be a martial artist. He cast several buffs upon himself, fluidly adopting a stance. He moved to engage James, launching a flurry of blows that would have overwhelmed a lesser opponent.

But James was no ordinary foe. He countered the martial artist's advances with ease, employing his telekinesis to shift the man's balance at critical moments subtly. A powerful hook to the jaw, enhanced by a well-timed telekinetic push, sent the martial artist smashing against a nearby wall with enough strength to crack it. He fell to the ground, groaning.

A hail of wind blades from the last two forced James away before he could finish him for good. He danced around the attacks, Eidetic Echo allowing him to keep track of them all and perfectly place his body in the gaps.

He could have weathered the attacks with a telekinetic barrier, but James didn't see a reason to put himself in danger when he didn't need to. Having dealt with the fire mage, Lauren turned her attention to them. Shadows lengthened, and, by chance, clouds covered the sun. Her presence, now fully revealed in the dim light of the alley, was a palpable force of intimidation.

The remaining two D-ranks, realizing the direness of their situation, hesitated. Their confidence was shattered by their comrades' swift and decisive defeat, and they found themselves facing opponents far beyond their capabilities.

Despite that, rather than try to reason, James felt the decision to attack them crystalize in their minds, and so he punished it.

He closed the distance in a flash, hands reaching for their faces with inevitability. Before the two mages could react, their heads were smashed into the unforgiving concrete. Their resilience made it so that one hit wasn't enough, and so three more times, they kissed the ground before unconsciousness finally took them.

Turning around, James noticed Yusuf straining to get up and sent a psychic jab at his mind, ending the fight.

"They made for good choreographers." He joked, earning a snort from Lauren.