Morning arrived, and with it Shouri’s return to consciousness. Pacifica and Taika were draped over him as always, earning a content smile from the Maestro. He just couldn’t understand why other Maestros denied themselves this kind of connection - this level of trust from their Resonators.

“Buongiorno Sho,” Taika whispered. Shouri turned his head to her, finding the vixen nuzzling his arm. He responded by scratching her ears, earning a pleasured sigh from the lunar fox.

They remained that way for some time, only stopping when Pacifica woke up.

With the room fully awake, Pacifica and Shouri departed for breakfast as usual. However, this morning they passed by Rebecca who was taking food back toward building A, by herself.

“He really is just using her as a tool,” Pacifica grumbled; her mood immediately soured.

“Try not to think about it.” Shouri picked up the pace.

The otter-girl jogged to match pace with her Maestro and grabbed his hand. “This is bothering you more than you’re saying,” she muttered.

“You’re not things.” He scowled at the building they approached.

“I know.” She squeezed his hand tightly. “I’m glad I picked you as my Maestro,” she whispered.

Walking into the cafeteria, the pair silently waited in line. Pacifica, for her Maestro’s mental well-being, kept a vice-grip on his hand, continuing to focus herself on him. She had a nasty feeling if she wasn’t there as a reassuring presence, he’d spiral emotionally. There was something about this situation with Rebecca that was getting to him more than anything else they had gone through.

She wished he would just come out and tell them what happened.

Taika noticed Pacifica’s desperate etude as soon as they returned. First from their linked hands, but second from the subtle wear in Pacifica’s demeanor. Releasing Shouri so he could eat breakfast, Taika sat next to Pacifica whilst they ate.

“Tag out,” the fox muttered to her otter companion.

“Alright,” Pacifica conceded after a moment of consideration.

And so the two girls spent the entire day caring for their Maestro. Eventually, it came time for them to head out for their evening hunting work.

Both girls were already a bit tired from waiting on Shouri hand and foot all day. He didn’t request a single thing from them – they had cared for him all on their own. Regardless, both of them knew they’d be sleeping well tonight.

“Something happened to him in his past,” Pacifica whispered to Taika as they made their way down to the hunt site. They kept a small distance from him, so they could speak in relative privacy (thankfully his hearing wasn’t as good as theirs)

“Why do you say that?” Taika asked.

“He’s been reflecting a lot. The wound is deep, like a scar,” Pacifica spoke quietly.

“I wonder what he’s thinking about.”

“Me too.”

Registration went as it usually did – waiting in line and they got a spot in the main group. Shouri seemed to liven up a bit as they made their way toward the highlands where the Scherzando had been nesting recently.

“You both alright?” he inquired.

“We’re fine!” Pacifica brightened up at being addressed.

“Si! Cento per cento!” Taika exclaimed, tail wagging with her Maestro’s attention.

Coming up to the gathering hunting group was always stressful, but thankfully they were more welcoming like the Riva Solare and Riva Sranvi groups. Tonight’s hunt would be good. Taika primed herself, ready to cast Rilevare l'intenzione at her Maestro’s command.

“Hey wait! Hang on!” A familiar voice reached the group.

Shouri’s grip on his tuners tightened as Liza flew up and landed, Lyle and Rebecca right behind her. “Sorry we’re late – we got a bit lost,” Liza addressed the hunting party. There was muttering and pointing. Chiefly, the other Maestros and Resonators were impressed with Lyle for having a dragon Resonator.

Shouri edged away from the group, his Resonators following his lead. Unfortunately, the rest of the group suggested Lyle go with Shouri to keep their healer/map-updater safe.

Lyle being the social wrecking ball that he was, saw no issue with pairing up with Shouri again – he knew how useful the lunar Maestro had been from the night prior.

“What do we do Sho?!” Pacifica hissed as they allowed the fire trio to take point.

“Good fucking question,” Shouri mumbled back.

“It’ll be okay,” Taika whispered uneasily.

The first group of Scherzando came into view. A small herd of deer-shaped shadows adorned with wood, moss, and bits of leaves - Nature elements.

“Go, Rebecca!” Lyle commanded. Pacifica and Taika watched on in confusion as Rebecca rushed towards the group, her Maestro not calling any spells. Suddenly the backs of her feet caught fire and with it, her speed increased. The two non-fire Resonators in the group watched the fire fox tear through the Scherzando with only the fire at her heels in an impressive display of dexterity.

“What the heck?” Pacifica gasped.

“What spell is that?” Taika asked her Maestro.

“Icarus’ ala; it’s not a spell, but the fire ad-Lib.” Shouri folded his arms across his chest.

"Ohhh..." Pacifica understood.

“ad-Lib?” Taika however, did not.

“Ad Libertum, or ad-Lib for short is an element-specific skill we can use with our rhythm rather than Shouri’s,” Pacifica told her. “I already have mine, which lets me breathe in water.”

The lunar Resonator frowned. “Wait, don’t we use our rhythm to protect ourselves?” Taika questioned.

“Yes. Yes, you do.” Shouri held up Pacifica’s tuner. The water-element nodded and rushed in, knowing what her Maestro was about to ask her. “Ghiacciolo, Rubato,” the Maestro spoke into the device.

Lyle raised a brow as he watched the otter run by. She produced a cluster of icy needles between her fingers and flicked them towards the remaining Scherzando, scattering them before Rebecca could get to them.

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The fire Maestro glared at Shouri, who was more than happy to return the expression in kind.

The two Resonators locked eyes. “You okay?” Pacifica asked.

“I’m fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.” Rebecca broke eye contact returning to her Maestro.

Pacifica balled up her hands, clenching them tightly.

The night wore on in a typical fashion. Liza remained on the sidelines, while Lyle provided no rhythm to Rebecca. Pacifica began outpacing Rebecca in both movement and damage dealt to the Scherzando; the exhaustion on the fox-girl growing more apparent with each engagement.

Shouri watched this happen, his rage growing with each passing moment as he was forced to watch the girl deteriorate. It was obvious she was worn out and in pain.

Finally, he reached his breaking point.

Lyle went to give his order: “Rebecca-”

“HEY!” Shouri barked over the other Maestro, trembling with rage. “GIVE HER AN ACTUAL FUCKING COMMAND!” It was taking everything in his power to not just walk over and deck Lyle.

Similarly, Lyle scowled at the Maestro his opposite. “What? Do you have a problem with how I’m using my Resonator?”

“Yeah, I DO! You fucking third-rate Maestro!” Shouri snarled. Liza dropped her arms to her sides before taking up a combative stance. Taika caught this and prepared herself.

Lyle gritted his teeth, similarly struggling to hold himself back from turning their disagreement into a physical altercation. “What did you say?” he growled. Liza held up an arm in front of her Maestro.

“You heard me fucker! They’re not things! Fucking do your goddamn job, you waste of rhythm!” Shouri roared. Pacifica now had to physically hold him back. On the opposite side, Liza had grabbed Lyle and kept him from approaching the other Maestro.

“Don’t do it, he’s not worth it!” both Pacifica and Liza told their respective Maestros.

“Taika!” Shouri suddenly shouted.

“Si!” The vixen jumped upon being called.

“La Bella Vita, Adagio Tutti – heal Rebecca’s feet.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but Taika approached the other group and knelt in front of Rebecca. Holding out her hands, a warm glow emanated from her palms. Rebecca’s neutral expression wavered, as she regarded Shouri with perplexion.

Shouri wrenched himself out of Pacifica’s grasp. He thrust his hands into his jacket pockets, feeling the cool touch of Pacifica’s tuner against his fingers. There was a thought of starting a fight right here and now, but the more logical side of the Maestro won out. “Let’s get out of here,” he spat, turning on his heel and leaving the scene with quick, angry steps. He didn’t give Lyle the satisfaction of a second look.

Taika rose to her feet, locking eyes with Rebecca for a moment, before turning to follow her Maestro. Similarly, Pacifica remained still for a moment, analyzing the opposing group before she too made her exit.

Shouri blazed ahead of his two Resonators, blood still simmering from the altercation. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his breath coming out in short puffs. He wanted to get as far away from that man as possible.

The two girls in question followed along quietly, trying to recover mentally from what just happened. If Pacifica hadn’t stepped in and grabbed Shouri, he truly would have attacked Lyle.

They had never seen him act like that before.

He wasn’t necessarily wrong in getting so upset about the situation. Both Resonators agreed that Lyle was way out of line in his treatment of Rebecca. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, Lyle was her Maestro and they didn’t have any legal right to stop him. No matter how much they disagreed with his methods.

They arrived back at the MA Office, but rather than heading towards their room, Shouri went elsewhere. Pacifica and Taika exchanged an uneasy glance as they continued to follow their Maestro.

A couple of turns down some hallways and they ended up at a small fitness center. Rather than a casting range for spells, it was a standard gym with a wide assortment of exercise equipment. The Resonators looked around, curious as to why Shouri had brought them here.

THWACK

They both perked up and looked over to the source of the noise. Shouri had taken up the punching bag.

THWACK THWACK

Every hit gave him a bit of satisfaction as he allowed his imagination to run amok with what he would have done had he not held back. And he spent the next half an hour expelling his frustrations on the poor defenseless sandbag until his arms couldn’t take it anymore.

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

Returning to the room, Shouri refused to heal his self-inflicted injuries and opted to soak in the shower alone.

This left Taika and Pacifica out and concerned. “Sho...” Taika sat on the edge of the bed near the bathroom.

“Come here, girl.” Before she could respond, Taika felt Pacifica wrap around her.

“Pacifica...” Taika allowed herself to be held by the other girl. “I dunno what to do,” she breathed out.

“Me too,” Pacifica whispered back.

It was so late out and it had been a long night, so it was only natural the two Resonators fell fast asleep waiting for their Maestro.

Shouri emerged from the confines of the bathroom over an hour later. He found his two precious Resonators sleeping in each other’s embrace. He knew they were worried about him, and he didn’t want to scare them. In the same respect, he just wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Walking around the room, he turned out the lights. It had been such a long night and he also didn’t want to be awake anymore. While he didn’t want to burden them with his thoughts and feelings on the situation, he also didn’t want to push away the two girls supporting him right now. So he gently crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around them, falling asleep almost instantly.