Early Dawn…

in Kyoto, Kameoka. City hall office.

Lemon was in a heated discussion with a rabbit-eared woman about the detectives. Specifically, about Midare and her crimes against the WMA. It was a topic Lemon didn't like talking about because of the situation during that event, but his superior was insistent on doing something about Midare, wanting to use their cooperation for her own benefit. His eyes shifted away from his superior's piercing red eyes. Even while looking away, he could still see their minor glow in the corner of his vision, "Don't you think she's been through enough? The world has forgotten about that event so bringing it up now would be grasping for a reason to detain her."

"Lemon…" She frowned, changing her seated position to a more relaxed one. "It isn't a matter of her crimes but what she'll do now. Midare is a wild card but she will always be in favor of causing chaos in order to get what she wants."

Lemon rubbed his chin. "And what she wants is...peace? To stop evil at all costs, going as far as to hurt herself to do so. Reanne-"

"Queen Reanne." Reanne interrupted. Her words struck him almost as if they had greater strength than a blade. "Your questioning against the high morals of the saint could be seen as heresy."

"I… understand." Lemon shifted back. "I'll take my leave." He began moving towards the door but stopped to hear Reanne comment one more thing.

"This is the Saint's will. All evil shall be cleansed, even if that includes all humans."

Lemon continued on his way out, hiding his visible frustration and disgust with the statement.

"The Saint's will, yeah right…"

Lemon walked down the stairs in the lobby and met with his closest royal guard. Julius d'Artagnan, a rabbit-eared rushè with blonde curly hair. While he preferred his knightly grab, in the city he got by wearing a simple suit and grey double breasted blazer, plus a white scarf.

"How did it go, Lord Lemon?" Julius asked after noticing his Lord's pained expression.

He ran his fingers through his side ponytail. "Reanne is still being a pain to reason with. She's insistent on putting Midare in her place."

What did that exactly mean..? Julius pondered. "What did she do to make the Queen hate her so much? You got a clue?"

Julius shrugged his shoulders. "I'd hate to assume the Queen holds past grudges."

Lemon knew it was much deeper than that but withheld that information. The information the world had forgotten due to reasons. He nodded, not wanting to continue the topic. "Assume what you will, It's not wrong of you to think ill of her. Anyway, how about we head somewhere for breakfast. I want to hear more about that girl sending you letters, Julius."

────── 〔✿〕──────

"You're not cut out for this." Midare said to him when he tried to explain that fainting after letting the killer escape wasn't completely his fault. He couldn't control what his unconscious brain wanted. What it wanted was sleep. Either way, she said to him—Cran reported that he couldn't work alongside someone so lanky and nervous whenever the situation heated up. He was too much a liability for fights and fighting magic criminals was the reason why Lemon invited the Blue Corps to the agency.

Utter bullshit Cran spewed, and Hyde had no say since he was passed out for the rest of that day. Like a child, he told Yamiko that it was unfair to leave him on this lame bodyguard duty and she would pat his shoulder essentially telling him that life is unfair, this agency's mission wasn't a movie. Hyde never thought of it as such.

Okay, maybe a little but picturing himself as the main character in an action movie was his ideal. He'd achieve it somehow. For now he started back at ground zeroーlobby floor of the dormitory where he got to sit behind Yamiko's desk for a day. Boring, he thought as he tilted his head back up to keep the ice pack from falling.

"Your sushi will get cold… if you let it sit." Yamiko said, sitting across from him in her usual office chair. Two trays of store bought sushi sat between them and Hyde's tray was untouched. The chopsticks remained unbroken as well.

Hyde kept his arms folded, turning left to right in his chair out of habit. "Sushi is already cold. It won't freeze like Antarctica." His eyes locked onto her's, a mistake he made since her wavering purple puppy dog eyes broke through his hard exterior. With a gesture, he averted his gaze. "Fine, you can have it."

"Thank you..!" She quickly snatched a sushi roll from his tray and tossed it into her mouth.

"I seriously had it. Should I say that right now?" Hyde didn't want to risk another lecture, but he also didn't want to sit idly and accept doing nothing like Mary and Dakota did. He was different from them in the sense that he was determined to exist outside the confines of a classroom. Being a janitor was better than just being a student and occasional bodyguard for a child. A child that had no visible nobility or special bloodline that would instantly earn him the experiences he wanted.

"You seem upset... maybe you should go to the cafe." Yamiko suggested as she gracefully took another sushi roll and placed it in her mouth.

Hyde nodded in agreement, his voice barely above a whisper. He stood up, allowing the ice pack to fall from his head and picked up his guitar case, then offered a polite bow to Yamiko. "Thank you for letting me sit here for a while. Your chair is really comfortable."

"Anytime, Hyde." She replied with a warm smile, her eyes following him as he made his way to the door. However, a question suddenly surfaced in her mind, and she couldn't let it go. "Oh, by the way... where did you get that guitar from?"

Hyde's reaction was almost immediate. His skin seemed to crawl, and a shiver ran down his spine. "Uh, well, it was loaned to me... Anyway, gotta run, bye!" He hurriedly exited the conversation, eager to avoid any further inquiries.

"That was close." Hyde said to himself. The weighty guitar case must've spurred suspicion in her, or she already knew what was inside and wanted to confirm with him. He let out a frustrated groan realizing his mistake—he didn't want to lie or keep Yamiko in the dark, it felt morally wrong to do irregardless of what she did for him.

As a raindrop tapped his forehead, he gazed upwards at the gathering clouds, attributing his current predicament to a stroke of bad luck. He quickly raised his guitar case over his head, realizing that if the rain intensified, it would render his makeshift umbrella futile. However, fortune favored him in the form of Cheri, or so he hoped.

She sprinted towards him and stopped breathless from her dash. After catching her breath, she pointed a finger at him, erupting into laughter. "Hahaha, how does it feel to collapse like that?"

His expression soured. "I was hoping you'd forget."

"It was just yesterday."

"Ugh…" Hyde's hand moved towards the guitar case zipper. "If you dislike me that much, we can settle—"

Cheri grabbed his hand, preventing him from opening the mysterious case. "No, no, not at all. I was concerned because you looked so pale. When you fainted, I was terrified that you had been shot, and I blamed myself for letting you get hurt."

"Really?" He was speechless.

"Honestly." She replied with sincerity, placing a hand over her heart. "It's my duty as a knight to protect everyone I can."

"Is that so…" Hyde scratched the back of his head bashfully. A pause followed before a question arose. "What's a knight doing here anyway?"

Cheri held the umbrella over his head as the falling rain drops grew plentiful. Unknowingly he would find himself walking alongside her. "I moved here from France because I was invited to train at a magic academy in Japan. Lord Lemon said my magic was too potent and that I needed special training along with Julius. Technically this is my first real mission since graduating from being an apprentice."

"You graduated that fast?" She looked even younger than himself.

"There's no reason for magic academies to hold magicians that are well versed in magic knowledge. The world is still studying and experimenting with magic as well. Once we pass the annual exam, we're left to our own devices." Cherri explained, "Sometimes magicians get hired by the World Magic Government Agency. Transfer students like me return to our home country to serve in the military, or further magic research as scientists."

Hyde nodded slowly, beginning to grasp the intricate geopolitics that surrounded his soon-to-be young adult life. The concepts of knights and magic sounded increasingly surreal as he contemplated them, along with the amnesia clouding his past and that of a few others. "You'll have to teach me magic someday."

Cheri hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if your body can handle it. It's a very dangerous thing." She then extended the umbrella towards him. "Anyway, I have to hurry back to my investigation. The criminal who we let get away was recently spotted in this district, and I believe I can catch him before he flees or changes his disguise again."

He accepted the umbrella but still protested, "But you'll get rained on."

"It's alright." she reassured him, flipping up the hood of her yellow raincoat. "I have a raincoat."

How convenient, he thought as he watched her dash off, waving her farewell. Her kindness and worry for his condition lifted his spirits and quickly he made his way in the opposite direction, excited to reach the cafe. However, his expectations were soon dashed when the sunglasses-wearing barista tossed him a green apron.

"Come on, kid, get your butt moving," The cool barista urged, giving him a playful nudge.

Hyde groaned, convinced that Yamiko tricked him into working another lame job. He left his guitar and umbrella by the door and hastily put on the apron, lazily tying the straps around his back. "Fine, fine, what do I need to do?"

The fox-eared maid handed him one of her full trays stacked with mugs brimming with coffee. And she'd point out three different tables. "Take this and serve the customer there, there and there."

Stumbling to his first stop where the tray pulled his direction, he placed down a cup for an older guest.

"Are you sure this is coffee? This smells like tea?" the old man complained and Hyde ignored, hurrying to his next stop.

"Here!" Hyde exclaimed feeling stylish when he nearly slammed down the next cup for a woman.

"Thanks–! Wait a second, this isn't milk."

"Gotta go!" Hyde swiftly moved past, going to the last order which was a young girl sitting in the corner of the cafe by herself. He placed the cup down with a satisfied, "There you go!" having completed this stupid task.

Unlike the other guests, this one firmly grasped Hyde's sleeve, preventing him from hastily moving away. Her grip was surprisingly strong, concerningly strong. "This isn't what I ordered." She hissed.

"You'll have to take it up to someone else. I'm not customer service." Hyde said, managing to snatch his arm away.

"You are–serving me, the customer." Hyde found that was hard to argue with. She stood tall out of her seat. "Don't you know who I am? I work for the Royal Floral Detective Agency, as a detective."

"Oh yeah, well that makes both of us!" Hyde exclaimed back, squandering her attempts to show off her position. He used his finger to jab her forehead, lowering her back into her seat. "Who the heck are you anyway? Midare didn't say anything about a little girl joining the agency."

This girl wasn't little by any means though. She was around the same age if her height was any indication, however most of her elevated stature was largely from the high-heeled boots she wore. Dressed in a light sweater tucked neatly into her plaid skirt, she exhibited normalcy, except her socks were of mismatched length. Finding a normally dressed person must've been too much to ask for. Her brown hair was a darker shade than Hyde's, its length was in the middle range, and sitting on top was a rather shiny black hairband.

Brushing aside her front bangs only for them to slip back into place, she introduced herself meekly. "My name is Ruena." In an abrupt change of tone, she stood back up and jabbed Hyde's forehead with her finger. "Wh-who the heck are you?"

"I'm Hyde, the best."

"You're not the best. You got my order wrong."

The bell at the entrance interrupted their bickering and both of their attention changed toward Midare at the door. She gestured to them before going up the stairs herself. Hyde and Ruena glared at each other sharing a grimace before following their boss to her office.

It was in her office Hyde found Mary and Dakota. Hoka was there too but she didn't have a large presence, sitting on the couch boredly while she waited. Dakota and Mary looked at the newest party member in awe causing her to avert her gaze ultimately giving her nervous embarrassment away. All three members–make that four because Hyde even reacted the same way, stiffened straight when Midare slammed her desk with her boot.

"You're all an embarrassment to this agency!" The Boss exclaimed, her voice seeming to eclipse even the chatter down in the cafe.

"Multiply your poor performances by four and that number is the number of strikes you have." Midare raised her fingers above her forehead. "I had it up to here with your actions."

"What did I do?!" Hyde pretended to be oblivious in his mind while she listed off their offenses. Firstly, Hyde allowed his investigation to go awry causing a gunfight that resulted in many police officers being fatally wounded. For someone who boasted great skills, he displayed none of it and passed out from shock. Mary and Dakota attempted to stop a named thief, and in tripping over each other to catch the rodent hopping from jewelry display to jewelry display, using wind magic to aid in his game of leapfrog, and having both detectives turn the shop into a mess. Lastly Ruena interrogated a witness thinking she was a suspect in Cheri's ongoing case. Accusing the older woman to the point where she cried. Death of a loved one wasn't something to make light of yet Ruena treated the witness bluntly.

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"Hehehe…" Hyde and Ruena let out an anxious laugh. Mary and Dakota kept their heads lowered, in the latter used his cowboy hat to cover where he was looking.

Brandishing a disk, she declared, "I can't allow the newspapers to tarnish our reputation any further. I'm offering you a chance to report some positive news. This will be the first case I assign to you." She waved the disk for emphasis while outlining the specifics. "Lambda and I stumbled upon a crime scene that the police haven't yet discovered." Inserting the disk into the computer tower, she turned the desk monitor to ensure they had a clear view of the black-and-white footage.

The group gathered around, trying to get a closer look, but the details were still somewhat difficult to discern. The video was angled to capture the corner of the store, providing a complete view of the various trinkets on the shelves and the storekeeper behind the counter.

A few seconds in, a man wearing a baseball that covered his eyes, entered and approached the storekeeper behind the counter. He then pulled out what seemed to be a dagger. Upon unsheathing said weapon, it brightened to a blinding degree, obscuring his body as a white blob on screen. He was using magic no doubt but the footage's limitation couldn't perceive it. The storekeeper staggered back then gripped his chest like he was having a heart attack. The pain he was facing came all at once when he vomited a waterfall and fell over having a spasm and subsequently dying.

Only Hyde thought it was cool watching a person die, the others in the group were disturbed despite the video's grainy image.

Midare returned the monitor facing towards her. That's when Dakota was the first to question, "What happened?" Which was on everyone's mind.

"Magic radiation. When an ordinary person is exposed directly to immense magic their body will start to fail, and at its worst, you'll see results as what you've just watched. To the police it'll look like a suicide, heart attack, or stroke." Midare elaborated.

Hyde stroked his chin remembering what he read in the book Yamiko gifted him. Each person had a set wavelength which determined their magic element. Exceeding and disturbing that wavelength led to drastic consequences, one of which being spontaneous combustion. Thankfully that didn't happen to the victim in the video–sudden explosion from magic was rare.

Mary swallowed her nervousness. "What do you want us to do? Do we need to track down this person?"

"Lambda managed to identify his uniform. In this video, he's wearing a black blazer and dark pants. That's your uniform, or something similar, correct?" Midare inquired.

Ruena's eyes widened. "You mean he goes to our school?" Hyde was equally surprised that Ruena attended the same school he did.

Midare replied calmly, "Just be vigilant and protect Hoka. That's your primary responsibility."

Hyde wasn't satisfied with this response. "No, we'll find and stop him!"

Midare shook her head. "You're overstepping, Hyde. The Blue Corps will handle the task of locating him."

"I know I messed up last time, but that killer got away. We can't let another one get away because then that's two killers on the loose. We're hardly magic detectives if we're letting the culprit get away every time."

Midare gazed at the ceiling, deep in thought, before making a decision. "Very well, I'll grant you permission to confront the killer if you happen to encounter him. However, I won't provide you with the means to defeat him. You'll have to figure that out on your own."

"Yes!" Ecstatic, Hyde raised his fist unconsciously before awkwardly lowering his hands back into his pockets. He had one more request to make of Midare before the investigation began the next day.

After class they took to the school halls as a complete party of four. A band of misfits that is, and led by the biggest up his own rear–Hyde Tetsuya. His personality was no secret and others were able to perceive his stupidity from their first interactions. The response to How is your day should never be No, How is your day like it's a competition.

In his hand was photo evidence of the suspect printed on a cut out piece of paper. He requested Midare to enhance the image and print out the frame where the suspect's face was most visible, a request more suited for her scientist to do in which he met Lambda again. The child maid was the computer expert and scientist of the agency, and handled most of their technology affairs when needed. Looking at the photo of the suspect, his face wasn't entirely obscured. The sole detail that set him apart was a streak of white hair under his cap. It could've just been a dust particle in the way but he was certain that streak of white was going to be the clue to find him amongst the sea of dark haired students in his school.

Hyde raised the photo and compared it to the face of a random student nearby. "No..." he muttered, disappointed. He moved on to a short-haired girl, examining the photo and then her face, shaking his head and muttering, "Not it either..."

Mary lowered her head embarrassed hearing the students scoff and remark quietly on how weird Hyde and his small group of friends were. This time she wanted to get away from him. "I don’t think we’ll find him this way."

Hyde rubbed his chin. "We have to. If he gets the jump on Hoka or us first then we're dead for sure." At the moment Hoka was with her first year friends but anything could happen in Kashiwara.

The cowboy shuddered at the idea of his head exploding because someone flashed a bright light at him. The video was ingrained in his mind. The man was gasping for air, vomiting blood just by being exposed to pure magic his body couldn't contain. Hyde was right, as much as he wanted to protest.

The question slowly became how to find a student that was skilled with magic, a magician in other words. They could bait him out, but with what..? Questions led to more questions and kept leading them back to square one. Thankfully rescue came, in the form of Hyde's eternal rival disguised as a student in his own turf.

"Hey detectives. You look busy." Cran stopped in front of them. "Oh hey—What's this?" He snatched the photo out of Hyde’s hand to examine it closely. He then tossed it behind himself. "Oh you’re looking for him? Yeah, he hangs out in the oddest places at school."

Hyde scrambled for the photo Cran seemingly tossed away like trash. It wasn’t on the floor and he clearly didn’t throw it out the window.

"It’s in my hand!" Cran smiled holding up the photo. "Cool trick right? Right?"

Ruena let out a sigh of relief. "That was scary. Please, don't do that again."

"Oh, Cheri's older sister. Looks like you're well acquainted with Hyde." Cran said while he waved the photo in his hand.

"Cheri's sister..?" Thinking about it now, they did have some similarities in their appearance. Though Hyde never expected Ruena to be the older sister. Cheri had a more mature air about her while Ruena was meek and held a small presence. Furthermore, Cheri had cat ears and Ruena didn't, being completely human, or rather, half rushè.

"Yeah…" She forced on a smile. "My sister is the best, right?" To which Hyde had to agree.

Cran handed the photo back to Hyde and motioned for them to follow him to the roof of the school. "Follow me. I'll show you something special"

Together they would ascend the school's stairs going from the second floor to the clear and open rooftop. While there was nothing to be seen on the roof but there was something to be seen below. Cran leaned on railings and nodded his head in the direction where delinquent boys gathered. They wore long coats, chains and had dyed hair color and so many other accessories, all of which broke the school’s uniform rules but the administration didn’t care anymore. They were uncontrollable.

Looking at the photo again, Hyde grinned confidently that he found one in the group that matched the image. "So we just have to interrogate him right?" He said while wagging the photo.

Cran shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, go ahead and get yourself beaten up. I’m not even sure if the nurse will be able to help you because of the magic inflicted wounds you’ll have."

"Magic wounds?" Mary repeated as her eyes widened in shock.

Stepping back from the railing, Cran elaborated on their usual gatherings. They would convene to trade special weapons, aiming to turn a profit which they would then invest in acquiring even more potent magic trinkets for subsequent sales. He likened it to a pyramid scheme of sorts. While they dabbled in various illicit activities, including drug trafficking, arms dealing was the primary motivation behind their meetings.

Though, this raised the question. "How do you know all of this?" Ruena said.

That's when Cran tapped his forehead "We’re detectives. Getting information is our number one priority." Though that hardly answered specifically how.

He always seemed to have an answer ready whenever there was a problem Hyde couldn't solve. This case was supposed to be his and his alone. Hyde paused letting his thoughts marinate before he placed one foot on the railing getting ready to jump. "I’ll beat it out of them!"

"Don’t you dare!" Dakota and Mary quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back to the ground.

"Don’t be stupid Hyde! Those guys are way stronger than us." Dakota scolded.

"We need to think about this first, together as a team." Mary added.

The consequences of having a team reared its head; clearly they all weren't on the same wavelength he was. Solving this case was a matter of urgency especially since Hoka wasn't being watched right now. Hyde clicked his tongue and stood to his feet, brushing his wrinkled uniform down. "Our plan will be to take things moderately slow, and then beat the information out of them."

"Seriously? That's your plan?" Cran teased. Hyde shot him a glare initially, but after a moment of contemplation, he devised a more concrete strategy. He shared it with the team, earning some perplexed looks, but they ultimately didn't object to his improved idea.

The plan would be set into motion after school hours. Hyde appeared to be on his own, following in the footsteps of the suspect as they moved beyond the school gates and into the city. From time to time, he paused to glance at his phone or pretend to check an invisible watch, all in an effort not to arouse the suspect's curiosity. However, the suspect never looked back even once. Even when the party following far behind Hyde often tripped over each other or got into a fuss about who hid around the corner first, and to move and get another hiding spot.

Their pursuit eventually led them to a dimly lit alleyway, shrouded in the building's looming shadow. It was at this precise moment that the suspect abruptly turned around, and right on cue, a gang of delinquents sprang forth from their concealed positions around the corner and behind the dumpster. The sight of seeing multiple guys come out of nowhere made Hyde wanna curl up into a ball and give up. He couldn't give up, not now after he traveled so far.

Dakota swiftly moved to Hyde's side, and both boys instinctively took a step forward. The girls in their group remained at the alleyway entrance, observing what was about to become a multi-part disaster.

"Yo, what's up." Hyde unsheathed his hand to tossed into the air. "My name is Hyde, yo." He exaggerated his voice to an absurd degree. "I'm a hardcore gangster, yo."

"That's right. Yo." Dakota awkwardly added in.

The gang of delinquents exchanged uncertain glances among themselves, each seemingly puzzled by the unusual turn of events. The suspect, characterized by a distinctive white streak in his hair, boldly stepped forward, a sly grin stretching across his face. Hyde mirrored the grin, internally patting himself on the back for the apparent success of their plan.

"I don't like the way you're eyeballing me, yo," the boy remarked, his focus shifting to Dakota. He stomped past Hyde, seizing the cowboy by the collar. "You're that dorky cowboy I've been seeing in the halls, right? Why don't you do everyone a favor and ditch that stupid hat? It's against the rules." With a swift motion, he yanked Dakota's hat from his head and shoved him backward.

"Heh! Yeah, you tell em, Nakata!" The peanut gallery started to erupt in cheers.

Nakata placed the hat on. "Look at me, I’m a cowboy yeehaw!" He spat then tossed the hat on the ground. "Idiots. Go home or else I’ll kick your ass."

The sight of his partner's brazen mockery fueled a surge of determination within Hyde. Without hesitation, he reached into his cardigan pocket, intending to reveal the photograph of Nakata, but before he could do so, Nakata abruptly seized him by the arm.

"Hey, this is my jacket!" Nakata's accusatory glare then shifted to the guitar case strapped to Hyde's back. "And that's my carrying case, you damn thief!"

Hyde swiftly withdrew his arm, retreating a few steps to put some distance between them in what was quickly becoming an impending battlefield. In a bid to justify his righteous larceny, he countered, "I confiscated it, nothing more."

"Do you even know what you're carrying? It could be drugs, some cursed trinkets, or even a bomb. I'm an inside trader; anything could be in there." Nakata's demeanor shifted, and he crossed his arms with an air of calm authority. "Tell you what. You return that case, and we can both walk away as if this meeting never happened."

The offer really sounded swell, the best deal that would prevent Hyde from getting his ass kicked by several men way more talented in shutting mouths up permanently. Armed with bats, metal pipes, clenched fists, and an evident willingness to resort to violence, was it genuinely wise for Hyde to not only endanger himself but also his companions, just to hold onto a seemingly insignificant sword that could very well be fake?

He fell to his knees.

"Hyde!" Dakota winced.

Ziiipp! That sound was satisfying to Hyde's ears. He was about to fight a hitman whose motive was unknown. Although the zip of his guitar case heightened his adrenaline, he couldn't help but wonder whether his trembling hands would muster the resolve to wield a sword against another human being.

"Alright, if that's what you wanna do." Nakata replied, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a dagger with a gleaming silver blade. It exuded an icy chill, so intense that it seemed to emit a freezing, white aura around the weapon.

Killing in broad daylightーkilling in general crossed the line of delinquency. Punching meek students and leaving them with a black eye and bruise was as far as the gang here would go. Naturally one of the boys behind him tried to intervene. "W-whoa, hold on! I didn't sign up to kill someone. I don't wanna go to prison for life!"

Nakata wagged the dagger in an attempt to mimic Soap's stylish spinning with a knife. "This is what it means to be a yakuza. You're either born into it or thirst for violence. Chasing it like a dragon."

Hyde didn't have that thirst. Zipping up the case again he back pedaled subtlety. Midare was going to be mad at him, but he preferred to live than to die foolishly like he tried to on the rooftop. Death facing him felt different than watching it from above a high place.

He had to bail from the situation. "Let's get out of here!"

But Nakata wasn't about to let him flee. He lunged, ready to strike Hyde from behind. Suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere, Hoka dashed in, taking the slash aimed for Hyde across her neck. Hyde's heart plummeted to unimaginable depths when he turned and saw her fall, writhing in agony on the ground. Blood poured from her grievous wound, but she didn't shed a tear. She accepted the injury with remarkable fortitude, hoping that Hyde wouldn't freeze up in the heat of the battle but he couldn't help himself.

"Hoka!" The voices of his friends calling out her name sounded distant and muffled, drowned out by the chaotic whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.

He had never really known Hoka, nor had he given much thought to becoming her bodyguard. She had been thrust into his life by Yamiko's whims when all he had wanted were cool experiences without the tragedy they seemed to bring. Hyde staggered to the side but quickly regained his footing, determined not to black out again.

Nakata, on the other hand, was sweating bullets, realizing the gravity of his actions. "A little girl?! Shit!" He muttered with a mix of frustration and nervousness. He forced a laugh, attempting to mask his unease. "S-see! That’s what you get for messin’ with us!"

One of the delinquents fell to his knees. "We’re totally going to prison dude!"

Nakata snapped. "Shut up! Help me get rid of the evidence. We'll be fine as long as we shut these idiot mouths permanently."

Without hesitation, Hyde unzipped the case and drew the blade from its hold. A longsword made the battle odds equal. And finally he had the perfect line that came from the depths of his anger. "You'll pay for what you did to Hoka."

He assumed a rather unsteady stance, with legs apart and knees bent, recalling his dreams of battling the mysterious white girl. Fighting was now his reality, and to initiate the battle, he lunged forward with a reckless slash that Nakata deftly countered with a swing of his own. Whatever happened in the background of his battle seemed to fade as he continued swinging and retreating ground against Nakata.

Nakata's movements displayed a level of skill that clearly outmatched Hyde's. It was evident that he had more experience wielding a blade. However, like Hyde, he seemed reluctant to take a life. His swings were fluid but lacked precision, as if he aimed to subdue rather than kill. It was as though he hoped that a well-placed cut would be enough to force his opponent to surrender.

A final and loud clash sent both boys stumbled down to their knees, the exchange of hits weren't equal. Hyde received a cold cut across his shoulder and nothing more while Nakata suffered a slash across his chest. The cold cut's stinging sensation burned like a flame rested on his skin, but Hyde took advantage of his light wound and rushed to seize Nakata by the collar.

"Where did you get that dagger?" Hyde demanded.

"Aah! S-Some alleyway seller in Osaka gave it to me for working with her—a woman with purple hair," Nakata stammered, spilling all the information he had, still clutching the weapon. His trembling arm suddenly swung a fist that caught Hyde off guard. The punch sent Hyde tumbling to the ground, and now the tables were turned.

Before Nakata could capitalize on Hyde's stumble, a loud voice echoed in the alleyway. "Hey! What's going on over there!" Hyde recognized it as Cheri's voice.

"You… I'm not letting you get away with this! Gang, let's scram!" Nakata shouted, limping away while clutching his bleeding chest. The delinquents, shaken by Hyde's unexpected performance and the pained look in his eyes, scattered from the school grounds.

Hoka, now in safe hands, was being carried by Mary. The bleeding from her neck had ceased, but they knew they needed to hurry. Together, they made a swift escape to the infirmary, from where Hoka would be promptly transferred to the hospital for further medical attention.