“Shouri!”

“It’s a dream come true!

“I can’t wait to live with you!”

“We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“I promise I’ll do my best!”

“We can’t find her...”

“Shouri we gotta get out of here!”

“Shouri! She’s gone! Let it go!”

“There’s nothing you could have done!”

“Sho... Sho... Sho..!”

Eyes shot open, immediately at their maximum width. A cold sweat coated his form, his breath labored as if he just run a marathon. For a moment he lay there, wondering what was real and where he was.

“Sho?” Pacifica whispered.

“P-Pacifica...” His voice cracked.

“Are you okay?” the concerned otter questioned.

Tears began to flow freely as Shouri began to tremble with emotion. If she wasn’t awake by now, Pacifica was certainly now wide awake. He pulled her close and held her tightly. Taika groggily opened her eyes from the sudden commotion.

“Cosa sta succedendo?” The lunar Resonator yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Suddenly she was pulled into Shouri’s arms alongside Pacifica.

The two Resonators exchanged confused looks as their Maestro held them in his grasp. While they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they knew what they had to do. Both girls held their precious Maestro tightly, allowing him to cry.

Some time passed, though it was still dark outside. The lights in Room 30 had been flicked on. Shouri was soaking in the shower, leaving Taika and Pacifica alone. The two girls sat on the edge of the bed, trying to digest what happened.

“I’ve never seen him break down like that,” Pacifica muttered.

“We both cried like that the night we left Riva Solare,” Taika admitted. “We were so tired and in so much pain,” the fox quavered, recalling that harrowing experience.

Pacifica leaned over, wrapping an arm around her fellow Resonator. “It’s okay. We’re safe,” Pacifica whispered gently. Taika smiled, rubbing away the tears that had begun to gather. The girls remained quiet for a moment.

“Why was he so upset?” Taika questioned.

“Bad dream I guess.” Pacifica frowned. “Must have been a hell of a nightmare.”

Silence once more as the pair wracked their brains for some kind of answer to their Maestro’s night terrors. But none came to mind; they simply didn’t know enough about him to arrive at any solid conclusion.

“I’m worried.” The vixen trembled, eyes fixated on the bathroom door.

“Me too Taika,” agreed the otter.

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

Pacifica and Shouri made their way to the cafeteria as usual. Though the Maestro was on edge, Pacifica could sense that much. It was like the times the kidnapper was after them. Was that what he had dreamt about?

Her gut instinct said this was something deeper than that – a much older wound.

Reaching out, she grabbed hold of his hand and wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing tight. The gesture brought them to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. Shouri stared at their interlinked digits.

“We’re here for you Sho,” she whispered to him. “If you need to talk about it-”

He shook his head but offered no verbal reply. This was incredibly painful for him, that much was abundantly clear. “Fine, but I’m not letting go.” She smiled bittersweetly. “I told you before, didn’t I? I’m sticking with you no matter what, and I know that goes doubly so for Taika.”

“I’ll be fine,” he finally spoke, though his voice cracked with emotion. “You’re both so very precious to me. I need you to know that,” he whispered.

Pacifica stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Of course.” She tightened her embrace. “And you’re irreplaceable.”

With that small intermission out of the way, they pressed on to get breakfast, though Pacifica kept hold of her Maestro’s hand the entire time, in an attempt to balance out his wild emotions this morning. It was a strain on her for sure, but she’d gladly do it until her last drop of rhythm.

As soon as they returned to their room, Taika greeted them at the door. She hugged Shouri, holding him tightly.

“Taika...”

“You’re worrying me, Sho.” She tightened her embrace.

“Sorry.” He paused, considering his word choice. “I’ll be okay, especially because I’m with you two.” He managed to crack a thin, albeit tired smile.

“I’m glad.” Taika buried her face into his chest, refusing to release him.

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

Their Wednesday was spent in relaxation. The day prior had worn them out and the trio agreed to rest up for the evening’s festivities.

A new town, which meant a new hunting scene. After conferring with the front desk attendant, they decided to just go with the hunter base camp closest to them – no need to go out of their way for work. Regardless it was still a healthy thirty-minute walk down to the site in question. It was comfortable out, the kind of late spring warmth that felt nice, but warned of the impending summer heat.

The sun was just dipping below the horizon as the trio arrived on-site. There was a noticeable difference in elements around these parts. Lots and lots of earth-element Resonators. With the Loggia mountains towering over them, it made sense. They could see some groups heading in that direction already.

Shouri guided his two Resonators to the registration line. It seems they had arrived right on time to meet the crowds. “Welp.” Shouri poked his head around the line and saw the length of it. “We’re gonna be here for a bit,” he sighed.

“At least it’s not too terrible out,” Pacifica offered.

“Glad we brought the water bottle,” Taika added before taking a sip of their shared container herself.

“Man, summer is gonna suck,” Shouri groaned.

“Why’s that?” Pacifica asked.

“Have you seen how Taika and I dress?”

The otter hummed whilst giving her companions a once over. Both wore white T-shirts and black pants and despite having different styles, they also had nice warming jackets on. “Ah.” In comparison, Pacifica herself had lots of exposed skin whereas her companions did not.

“We’ll call it even in winter,” she decided.

“Yeah no, I’m not gonna deal with you trying to hibernate on me,” Shouri retorted quickly, wagging a disapproving finger at her.

“Winter clothes suuuuck,” the otter complained loudly.

It was at that point that the water element caught sight of that fire fox from the MA Office. She looked just as downtrodden as before. Shouri too caught sight of the vixen. He quickly averted his gaze and started talking loudly to Taika about stuff they were going to do in Fercy – a gesture not missed by the ever-aware Pacifica.

However, upon the fire trio’s exit from the line, Pacifica and Shouri both fell quiet, their silent gazes locked onto the other group.

Taika frowned, noting the abrupt silence of her friends.

It wasn’t too much longer before their turn came up. Shouri handed over his two tuners as usual. “Hmmm,” the registrar hummed in thought. Their eyes studied the laptop they had set up, every so often flicking back to the black and blue tuners that lay next to the computer.

“Is there a problem?” Shouri inquired, the slightest hint of apprehension in his voice.

“We have a lot on the vanguard this evening,” they noted, regarding the Maestro before them. “Would you mind taking one of the flanks instead?” came the hopeful request.

Shouri stole a glance at his two Resonators for their thoughts – he got a couple of shrugs in return. Thinking it over, they had always been part of the big, main groups and didn’t have any experience with other roles hunters like them needed to fill. “What does that mean?” the Maestro decided to at least hear the attendant out.

“It’s a pretty easy gig, basically you just make sure no stragglers end up heading towards the city,” they said simply.

“Hmmm...” Shouri hummed, stroking his chin in thought. They weren’t that hard up for money, and it seemed like they were having a difficult time filling this position. It wouldn’t hurt them to do this tonight, plus he was still a bit tired from the last week or so of excitement. “I guess we could try it just for tonight,” he spoke up after consideration.

“Excellent. I’ll update your map with your coverage area.” The attendant hurriedly input the information before any second thoughts were had about the agreement.

With his tuners returned, he stepped out of line with his traveling party. “Easy night supposedly?” Pacifica offered.

“Supposedly.” Shouri kept an air of skepticism. As far as he understood this was all relying on other people doing their jobs – a dubious prospect.

“It’ll be fine Sho. We’ve handled worse at this point.” Taika patted her Maestro’s shoulder reassuringly.

“You’re right, and it’s concerning how right you are,” Shouri decided after a moment of thought.

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

Following the markings left on the tuner’s map by the registration attendant, they found themselves in a nearby field. It was a wide-open area, with no real defensible land or structures to speak of. If a Scherzando decided to make a break towards the city, it’d be a pain to chase them down. A fact not missed by the tactically-minded Shouri.

“Urgh,” he groaned. “We’re not doing this role again,” the boy immediately decided.

“What’s wrong Sho?” Taika inquired, not seeing the problem.

“We’re being asked to defend a fucking field.” He motioned to the whole lot of nothing around them.

“Yeah? What about it?” Similarly, Pacifica didn’t see the issue.

“Think about it this way – if three Scherzando rushed at us from there, there, and there, what would we do?”

Shouri had pointed to their extreme left, their center, and their extreme right. The two girls pondered the question for a moment. “Oh.” They both finally understood. “Even if Pacifica and I split up one would still get by,” Taika vocalized their realization.

“Exactly. This entire thing hinges on the vanguard group being able to minimize wandering or stragglers,” Shouri huffed.

A new voice distracted from the complaining. “Oh, there’s someone else out here?” Shouri and Pacifica immediately were on edge upon seeing who had approached them. It was that fire trio, the Maestro, his dragon, and most distressingly the fox.

It was the dragon girl who had addressed them. “We didn’t think anyone else would be crazy enough to come out here,” she spoke. “My name is Liza.” She waved.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Lyle,” the Maestro spoke up. Notably, neither of them even acknowledged the fox that was following them, and she didn’t introduce herself either; her head remained down.

After a moment of silence waiting for the fox’s introduction and receiving none, Shouri started their introductions.

“Shouri.”

“Pacifica.”

“Taika.”

Lyle nodded. “I’m assuming you’ll be taking point then?” he asked of Shouri.

A raised brow from the brunet Maestro. “Why’s that?”

The red-haired Maestro pointed to Taika. “Detection spell,” he stated a matter-of-factly.

Shouri’s expression fouled a little at the way Lyle had said that. “I suppose so.” His voice dropped a bit as he attempted to remain civil. “I’ll handle the logistics then,” Shouri spoke up after a moment.

“That works out then. Just point and we’ll take care of it.” Lyle smirked. “We have four Resonators between us, this should be easy,” he added.

There was something about this guy that rubbed Shouri and Pacifica the wrong way. Taika could sense the friction between their two groups (or at least from her companions) but didn’t understand why.

“Rilevare l'intenzione, Rubato. Please update us Taika,” Shouri spoke gently to the Lunar Resonator.

“Of course!” She gave a thumbs up.

“Pacifica, Ghiacciolo, Rubato – If you spot any Scherzando-”

“-take ‘em out! Easy peasy!” Pacifica finished for her Maestro.

Lyle raised a brow, huffing and unimpressed. Liza herself raised a brow, but rather than looking down on the other trio like her Maestro, she was confused about their tactics.

And the fire fox lifted her gaze, seeing the comradery between the other trio. After a moment she shook her head and lowered it, awaiting the commands from her Maestro.

They all waited around for a bit, keeping to their respective groups. Finally, after the sun had completely set, Taika perked up.

“A few are heading this way,” she warned Shouri.

“Ah, let’s see the damage.” The Maestro flipped to the map and took a look.

“Hey, guy,” Shouri called out to Lyle.

“It’s Lyle,” the other Maestro huffed, clearly offended.

“Yeah, whatever, there’s three coming from our far north and two at the south.”

“So you want us to get the ones at the south?”

“No, get the northern ones, you have the flier, you can get there faster.”

Lyle thought about it for a moment. “He’s right Lyle, let’s go get the north ones,” Liza advised her Maestro. “I guess that’s true.”

The dragon-maiden, Liza took to the sky, grabbed hold of her Maestro, and took off towards the northern plains.

Pacifica and Shouri scowled as the fire fox was forced to run after them on foot. “I was kinda implying Liza would fly ahead and he could command her remotely...” Shouri grumbled as he pointed his group south.

“He... doesn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed,” Pacifica pointed out.

“Yeah, I think for my sanity it’ll be best just to talk to Liza,” Shouri added.

Heading off to their quarry towards the south, they came across a small cluster of earth element Scherzando, shaped like a pack of coyotes.

“Hmmm...” Shouri watched them meander around for a moment. The shadowy beasts “sniffed” the air, but didn’t seem to take notice of the Maestro or his Resonators.

“What do we do Sho?” Taika asked.

“I’m glad you asked my vixen.” He chuckled.

Pulling his two tuners from his side, he had already decided on his commands.

“Funghi Magici, Legato; Manga de Agua, Piano!”

The two girls jumped at the rhythm suddenly being provided to them. Sharing a glance, they nodded to each other and rushed in. Taika took the lead and spread a field of glowing mushrooms near the Scherzando.

The beasts noticed the two girls rushing at them and ran towards them, hitting the mushrooms and spreading the spores into the air.

Being earth elements, the part-nature spell was quite effective on them, putting the entire lot to sleep. While their bodies lay motionless on the ground Pacifica launched a water spout at the group, scattering the beasts into the wind (and water)

“Yeah!” Pacifica and Taika shared a high-five in celebration.

“Good job!” Shouri joined in the festivities, which immediately earned him a pair of hugs from his affectionate Resonators.

“Are you okay Sho? You used that Legato spell,” Taika fretted, giving her precious Maestro a once over.

“Perfectly fine. Barely felt it.” Shouri chuckled. “Let’s head back.” He motioned to where they had initially met Lyle.

Upon their return, they found Lyle waiting with his Resonators. “There you are. I was wondering if we’d have to go looking for you,” the fire Maestro grumbled impatiently.

Liza looked ready to go still, stretching out her arms and wings. The fox on the other hand was still trying to catch her breath, covered in a thick layer of sweat.

Shouri cleared his throat, attempting to avert his gaze from the exhausted fox girl. “I-if you would Taika,” he addressed his vixen.

“Si.” She nodded slowly, once more casting the detection spell.

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

The night continued in a pretty routine fashion: Taika sensed something, and they split up and dealt with the threats.

Though as the night wore on, Shouri and Pacifica continued to notice the less-than-stellar treatment of the fire fox in Lyle’s ownership. The poor thing was being run ragged. Shouri wondered how she was being utilized in battle.

Finally, they were relieved by the overnight crew, and with it, Shouri and Lyle’s groups went their separate ways.

“Hrmph.” Shouri snorted as they made the trip back to the MA Office.

“What’s wrong Sho?” Taika inquired.

They came to a stop and took a break on a bench. “That Lyle guy doesn’t seem to care about that fox Resonator,” he voiced his concern.

“You noticed too?” Pacifica asked.

A frown creased Taika’s forehead as she dropped her gaze, deep in thought. She hadn’t considered it, but she realized they didn’t even know that girl’s name. It was like she was barely a thought in Lyle’s mind.

“It’s what I was telling you before Taika. There are a lot of Maestros that treat their Resonators like tools.” Pacifica turned her head. “That’s what it looks like,” the otter uttered.

The lunar fox trembled. “Awful.” At that moment, she grabbed Shouri’s arm that was close to her; clinging to him as she counted her blessings. Pacifica followed suit.

“I don’t understand people like him,” Shouri uttered, interlinking his fingers with both Taika and Pacifica, squeezing tight.

“Sho...” The two girls smiled.

Eventually, they found their way back to the MA Office. Lyle had left a bad taste in their mouths, sure, but they got some decent money tonight and not a single Scherzando even got close. After the big Scherzando hunt, normal Scherzando weren’t even a threat to them.

It was a bit boring, if they were being entirely honest with themselves. In the same respect though, tempting fate was something they didn’t want to do given how poorly the Big Scherzando hunt could have gone.

Putting that at the back of their minds, they decided to make a stop at the vending machines to get some snacks for a job well done.

However, like the night before, there was already an occupant in the little corner of the MA Office. The same orange-clad fox who was run ragged tonight was gathering food for her Maestro, said Maestro being nowhere to be seen.

When she was done, she turned to see the trio standing before her. She uttered a small apology and tried to walk around them.

“Wait,” Shouri called to her.

She stopped just before she was out of their sight. “What is your name? We never got it earlier.”

The fire fox looked befuddled as to what the point of this conversation was. Seeking to end it quickly, she humored them. “Rebecca. My name is Rebecca.”

“What’s your clan?” Pacifica suddenly spoke, earning a raised brow from her Maestro.

“I’m a Renard.” The fire-element glanced at the menagerie of snacks in her arms and shuffled them uncomfortably.

“Sorry for keeping you – have a good night.” Pacifica waved to the fox, who quickly turned and left.

“Why did you ask her that?” Taika questioned her fellow Resonator.

“I had my suspicions, and I was right.” Pacifica glared at the space Rebecca had previously occupied.

“Ah, that’s what I thought,” Shouri spoke in realization.

“What’s going on?” Taika whimpered, not understanding what the significance

Shouri and Pacifica exchanged a glance, locking eyes for a moment before sharing a short nod.

“Let’s take this to our room.” Shouri patted the vixen’s shoulder.

“Don’t want to be caught gossiping,” Pacifica added.

With an uneasy nod, Taika accepted the proposed plan.

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

Back in their room, snacks in hand, they gathered around the guest table.

“So the Renards are a clan of fire-fox Resonators,” Pacifica began.

“A lot of their members are top competitors as well as world-class hunters. When it comes to combat you can’t do much better than having a Renard,” Shouri continued.

Taika stroked her chin in thought, taking this all in. “They’re famous then?”

Shouri nodded in the affirmative. “Very much so. They also command quite a high price tag,” he added.

“Right... people can just buy us.” The fox-girl wilted.

It wasn’t something any of them were too comfortable with, but it was a brutal truth of their world. Some people didn’t have the same viewpoints regarding Resonators that Shouri did. While they had met a lot of like-minded people on their journey, they knew they’d meet an equal number of Lyle’s in the world.

“That poor girl must have changed hands a bunch.” Pacifica balled up her fists tightly.

“What makes you say that?” Taika hesitantly inquired.

Pacifica took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “Well, she has an incredibly weak connection with her Maestro. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came down to her survival versus his, she’d hesitate whether or not it'd be worth it.”

“The feeling is probably mutual,” Shouri spoke up. “If she was in real danger, I can’t see that man stepping up to protect her.” He scowled at the table they were all seated around.

The two Resonators felt that; Shouri regularly threw himself into danger for their well-being. He was the anomaly though, not many other Maestros would do the same for their Resonators.

Simply put – Resonators were seen as disposable. It was a cold, dark fact of this world. As much as they wanted to ignore it.