“Fuck you,” were the first words Elijah Klein heard when entering the dressing room he had forced Shouri and company into for the day.

Albarich and Ritika burst out laughing. Emily rolled her eyes but smirked, suppressing a chuckle of her own.

“My, my Mister Tomoshibi, what did I do to earn such vitriol now?” Elijah questioned wearing his usual thin smile.

The festivities were done for the day, with the Semi-finals completed - now only the Quarter-finals and Finals remained. Two more days of competition between then and the crowning of the Kalanichi National Champion.

Needless to say, Shouri did not want to be on the interview deck again.

With the Klein heir secured, the large group began their way out of the stadium, idly chatting amongst themselves as they did so. Pacifica kept quiet, noting the gazes they were receiving.

The group was quite flashy now that she thought about it. The son of the leading company in Resonator battling, his dinosaur Resonator; one of the Maestros in the quarter-finals with not only a dragon but a mirage Resonator of her own; and Rebecca, who was a noble Resonator. There were so many eyes on them; she even spotted several cameras snapping quick pictures.

It was impressive how cool and collected Elijah was; he had to know, right? All this attention on him must be suffocating.

The group’s progress halted when Elijah’s tuner started ringing.

“Hm?” The blond Maestro pulled the device from his coat pocket and answered it. “This is Elijah.”

All eyes were on the man as his expression clouded. “I see, I see. We’re returning now. Please don’t refuse her, I’m sure if she’s looking for him there’s a good reason.” He instructed the party on the other line. “Thank you, we’ll be there in twenty.”

Lowering his tuner, Elijah cast his gaze to Shouri, who glared back uneasily.

“You’ve already figured it out,” Elijah muttered.

“Who was it?” Shouri asked.

“A dragon apparently. Miss Mila is a cat though, no?”

The trepidation was replaced by confusion. “Dragons? I don’t know any dragons. Well besides Albarich.” He glanced at the dragon currently in their presence who offered a shrug back.

“Uncle Syrus?” Pacifica guessed.

Shouri chewed on that idea for a moment. “Oh yeah, your uncle is a sky dragon,” he remembered. The Maestro furrowed his brow after considering that thought. “But why wouldn’t your mom just call me directly instead of sending him across the ocean?” Shouri mused aloud. Pacifica frowned, not having an answer for her Maestro.

“Well, why don’t we stop theorizing and just go find out who it is?” Emily suggested.

“Yeah, yeah!” Ritika nodded in agreement.

“It’ll be fine Sho.” Taika gently rubbed her Maestro’s back.

“God I hope so.” Shouri slumped over.

Rebecca meanwhile, remained silent; head lowered in deep thought.

----------------------------------------

The trip back to the Villas Fairingway was mundane as usual (or as mundane as one could get when riding in a limousine). Emily and her Resonators chatted with Elijah, who was his usual charming self. Zino just watched with fading interest.

Shouri and his team stayed out of the conversation though, all ruminating about what was waiting for them at the hotel. Who could it possibly be? They knew very few people on the Kalanichan continent, and nearly all of them were in the vehicle they were riding in. Shouri’s strong curiosity made them all itch with anticipation toward their mystery guest.

Arriving back a little after six, the sun was about half an hour away from fully setting for the evening, but even so, the night was just beginning. For that, Elijah led the ten-strong group to where their special visitor was being held.

“As you instructed Mr. Klein, we’ve kept her here, we also provided her some food and water as she did not look well,” one of the hotel staff informed him as they made their way into the back offices.

“Thank you, charge it to my room as usual,” Elijah said, dismissing the employee. Once they were alone, he took a breath, stepped away from the door, and faced Shouri. “After you.”

Shouri rolled his eyes but complied. He took hold of the doorknob and held it for a moment. Taika patted his back reassuringly. With that vote of confidence, he turned the knob and let himself in.

Who was waiting for him caused his eyes to widen. “Wait you’re-”

“THAT BITCH!” Rebecca shouted. “I FUCKING KNEW IT!” the vixen snarled.

Sitting in an office chair holding a small paper cup was a red dragon, a fire Resonator they had met previously.

Rebecca stepped forward, trying to charge the other Resonator, but Pacifica was quicker on the draw and took hold of her teammate. Before the otter could lose her grip, Taika joined in the restraint efforts, keeping the enraged fox firmly in place.

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Unlike his Resonator, however, Shouri’s expression pitied the poor girl. She looked terrible. Covered in all kinds of knicks and scrapes; even her wings were slightly torn up. Her clothes were in disrepair, unlike the bright and proud dragon they had met back in Fercy. Her head hung as naturally as a wilting flower, the light having abandoned her.

Shouri gave the dragon a once over, tracing her form, capturing every last detail. Even Rebecca demonstrating her colorful usage of the Maelish language couldn’t hope to break his concentration. The Maestro took in a breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled slowly. “Emily,” he addressed the other Maestro.

“Y-yes?!” the Luna native yelped upon being called.

“Can you take Rebecca out of here, please? These two have a history,” he spoke calmly, not taking his eyes off the dragon before him.

“Sure,” Emily said with an uneasy smile. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she warned.

“Shouri! You better not take her in! I swear to god!” Rebecca roared, intensifying her struggle against her teammates.

“C’mon you.” Albarich grabbed Rebecca, allowing Taika to release her hold.

“You’re coming with us,” Ritika added, helping in the restraint process, freeing Pacifica.

Even with the two new Resonators taking hold of her, Rebecca stayed in place. They made no progress in moving the feisty fox. Though Rebecca was no match for Soot once he got involved.

“SHOURI!” Rebecca screamed as she was pulled out of the room.

“Thanks, Emily.” He waved back.

“You owe me,” she chuckled, before taking her leave.

Elijah and Zino sat on a nearby bench, meant for waiting guests. “You have a history with this girl?” the heir asked.

“You could say that.” Shouri finally approached the dragon, who despite everything that just happened remained in place, not once flinching despite the provocation and noise.

“Liza.” He knelt in front of her. “What the hell happened to you?”

The girl herself slowly shook her head. Opening her mouth just produced a horrible dry heave. Shouri glanced at the cup in her grasp – still full. She hadn’t taken even a sip of it. Even more, she was covered in dirt with cuts and scrapes adorning her body.

Her rhythm was weak, that much was immediately obvious – he could barely sense her even kneeling right in front of her.

“Sho.” Taika crouched next to him. “Let me use my new spell on her,” she suggested.

“Good idea,” he said, drawing Taika’s tuner from his waist. “Ricerca Vitale, Presto,” cast the Maestro.

Taika’s eyes glowed, coursing with her Maestro’s rhythm as Liza was identified thanks to the power of the spell provided to her. She gasped as the information became available to her.

Shouri found out what elicited Taika’s surprise upon the readout becoming available on her tuner. The owner line is what drew Shouri’s immediate attention, his jaw hanging loose as he tried to find his words.

[STRAY]

“Lyle… abandoned you?”

Liza nodded slowly. From the tatters of her clothing, she drew her tuner, presenting it to the Maestro who knelt in front of her. Her hand trembled, unable to remain steady. Despite her banged-up appearance and the dirt that clung to her, the tuner was spared from this fate. The screen sparkled with a lovely sheen, the edges free from any gunk build-up, not even a fingerprint marred the surface of the red-bodied device. It was in mint condition as if it had just come out of the packaging for the first time.

Shouri studied the device, then traced it back to the one who it was bound to. The light in her eyes was nearly gone – he could see the tiniest spark of hope left in it. This was her try, her last chance for salvation; that is what this gesture meant to him. The Maestro balled up his hands, taking a deep gulp before he spoke. “Pacifica, Taika.” Though he spoke their names, he refused to face them.

The two remained quiet for a moment. This was Shouri after all, this whole situation was only going to end in one way. Pacifica and Taika exchanged a glance, telling the other everything they needed to know.

Pacifica spoke what the two girls were thinking, “Rebecca is gonna kill you.”

“I know. It’s not permanent though. I promised you two and Rebecca I wouldn’t take in another Resonator. But I’m going to make sure we figure out what’s going on and if need be, find her a new home,” he laid out his thoughts, staring at the tuner, the metaphorical rope that had been thrown to him.

“We’re gonna hold you to that,” Taika said.

“Or Rebecca will kill us too,” Pacifica giggled.

“I know,” he repeated. “But you know how I am.” With a smirk, he accepted Liza’s tuner.

Shouri

Resonator: Liza

Species: Demi-Human (Sky Dragon)

Element: Fire

Attribute: Piercing

Rhythm: -5