Amika and Leo had been stunned to silence by Shouri’s performance for the remainder of the night. Not only was he casually flinging around spells that they had only seen in movies and on television, but he did so without a second thought.

He knew what his Resonators were capable of and capitalized on it. Furthermore, by the end of the night, he wasn’t even rhythmically exhausted – he could still keep going at that pace, which gave the reunited friends a new appreciation and maybe even fear of the unassuming Maestro.

Amika stared at her tuner’s banking application as they made their way back to the base camp. She couldn’t argue with the results for the night; she was a couple hundred notes richer from just supporting Shouri. How much was he bankrolling if she got this much from just playing a supportive role?

“Be careful with those ossia spells,” Shouri suddenly spoke up.

“Right, the ones Chena and Andi got.” Leo frowned at the new spell that had been "gifted" to them. The comet spell Pacifica had used had a hell of a charge-up time and was quite slow from his observations, but the effects were devastating. Turns out dropping a giant ball of ice from the sky on your adversaries wasn’t too good for their health.

It was at this point in their conversation that they exited the woods and came back out to the main hunter base. A small crowd was gathered, excitedly chatting among themselves. A member of the gossiping crowd noticed Shouri’s group and pointed them out. “Maybe it was them!” came an excited shout.

“Wha-?!” And then instantly they were surrounded by a dozen or so Maestros. Taika and Pacifica clung to their Maestro for no other reason than to put themselves between him and the small mob that had formed.

“Were you the ones that cast that big meteor?”

“He has a lunar and a water, it could have been either of them!”

“Not even a strand of ashy hair, it’s gotta be him!”

“Where did you come from?!”

“Can I get an autograph?”

Even with Taika wrapped around him, Shouri found himself frozen by the sudden attention. What was with people idolizing him? He didn’t do anything special; he did his job like anyone else. He didn’t deserve this attention.

“Cortina Fumogena, Allegro!”

Suddenly the mob was enveloped by a thick smokescreen. Before Shouri or his Resonators could react to the sudden loss in visibility, they were yanked away and forced to run. Amika grabbed Shouri’s hand while Andi had Taika, and Chena got Pacifica.

Needless to say, the rabble wasn’t prepared to deal with the smokescreen spell, allowing Shouri and company to get away safely.

“What the fuck was that about?” Shouri wheezed, shooting a glare at Amika.

They had hidden themselves amongst the trees, which thankfully none of the adoring public seemed to have caught on to. As such they were allowed a reprieve from Shouri’s newfound “fame”.

“Why are you asking me?!” Amika grunted back between gasps of air.

“I have a hunch that you’re the exception, not the rule.” Leo had regained his breath much quicker than his two counterparts.

“What do you mean by that?” Shouri questioned.

Leo’s line of sight shifted towards the two Resonators by Shouri’s side, who were focused on their Maestro with concern. “How long have you had those two?” he answered with a question of his own.

That question was met by an ounce of trepidation from Shouri. He honestly debated just turning and leaving but hesitantly decided to humor the other Maestro. “Taika and I met in April, Pacifica in early May.”

“And the third Resonator?”

“Rebecca was late May.”

Leo nodded slowly. “So, you’ve had a team of three Resonators for about a month now and you’re this strong?”

“We’re not that-”

“Shouri stop,” Leo cut his counterpart off, earning him a glare (one that he was more than happy to return).

The water Maestro shook his head. “Shouri, you’re terrifyingly strong at this point. I don’t know what happened to you, or if you’re even telling us the truth, but you’re a different person now.”

“Yeah, three years tends to do that,” Shouri scoffed, rolling his eyes and leaning back against the tree behind him.

“No, it’s not that. You’ve been a full-fledged Maestro for threeish months and you can spend an entire evening throwing around crazy high-level spells like they’re nothing.”

Shouri opened his mouth to snap back, but nothing came out. Leo was right. When he first started it was hard. That first night he and Taika participated in a hunt was exhausting. Sure, he had his sister and her Resonator backing them up, and a month of solid training against targets down, but nothing compared to actual combat.

After nearly two months of regular training and hunting, in addition to adding Pacifica and Rebecca to their ranks, he had grown accustomed to providing rhythm to three separate Resonators. It wasn’t always as easy as it was tonight, but the fact that his hair hadn’t even gotten close to turning ashy was visible proof he had plenty more rhythm in the tank.

“What are you doing?” Amika questioned, giving him a once over.

“Just hunting,” Shouri quickly replied.

“Bullshit, there’s something else. I know a few people that were there tonight and they’re just getting to your level after a year or so of constant hunting.”

Down went Shouri’s head as he refused Amika’s scrutinizing gaze. Pacifica gritted her teeth, she opened her mouth to say something but stopped when Shouri motioned to her.

Leo caught that. The otter was about to speak up on her Maestro’s behalf. Again. He hadn’t come across other Resonators before that did that. Chena and Andi were prime examples of this – they were standing quietly behind their respective Maestros just watching, though neither dared to utter a word. This wasn’t their conversation to join.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

But that otter and fox, both glared daggers in Leo and Amika’s direction, they had so much they wanted to say right now and were only being held back by their Maestro’s implicit wishes.

“I dunno what you want from me,” Shouri finally found the words. “I’m not that strong. Any strength you see from me is them.” He motioned to the pair by his side. “They’re strong, not me.”

Neither Leo nor Amika believed that for a second. However, at least Leo recognized that Shouri wasn’t ready to give up the secret sauce of his success that easily; if he even was aware of it at all. “Alright then,” Leo decided, not wanting to be overly antagonistic about the whole affair.

“Just know, at some point, you passed just being a normal person doing this stuff. Those people wanted to know the same thing we do: how did you get that strong?” Leo informed the other Maestro.

Shouri shook his head in disbelief. “That can’t be right. We’ve seen plenty of Maestros at our level.”

“A whole bunch of them!” Pacifica added, with Taika nodding quickly.

Leo frowned, humming in thought. “Yeah, there are strong Maestros everywhere, I’ll concede that point,” he mulled over his words for a moment before continuing. “But two things about that: one, I doubt many of them have had the unbelievable growth you’ve seemingly experienced; and two, they’re usually pillars of their community,” he explained.

“Or they blow into town like you and make a big fuss before moving on to the next,” Amika added with a scoff.

Shouri once more rejected the gazes that were locked onto him.

“I can’t think of anything special we’re doing,” Pacifica spoke where her Maestro refused.

“Sho is just super smart!” Taika added in with a vigorous nod.

Another thoughtful hum and narrowed eyes were cast by Leo in the direction of the odd trio. Once more the two Resonators had spoken up where their Maestro had not. Either way, they were not his Resonators, so he allowed it to slide. “At any rate, it’s getting pretty late. We should be heading home,” Leo decided to end the conversation there.

“R-right.” Shouri was still visibly uncomfortable with the entire encounter.

“Have a good night Shouri.” Leo waved, taking his leave.

“And don’t make us chase you through the city again!” Amika barked as a threat.

Once alone, Shouri allowed himself to collapse onto the ground. He let out a loud, dramatic sigh, burying his face in his knees. “God this is why I didn’t want to deal with them.”

Pacifica and Taika joined their Maestro up against the tree.

“Is it really strange for us to grow quickly?” Pacifica questioned.

“I dunno,” Shouri mumbled into his knees.

“Why don’t we ask Rebecca what she thinks?” Taika suggested suddenly.

Shouri and Pacifica looked at the lunar fox. “D-did I say something wrong?” the lunar fox asked uneasily.

“No, it’s just that’s a really good idea,” Shouri replied.

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

Twitch twitch

Velvety red fox ears flicked in response to the front door opening. Their owner roused from her accidental slumber. Rebecca had made an honest attempt to stay up to greet her Maestro and fellow Resonators but based on that the television was now off told her she didn’t last long in that endeavor.

The trio of Shouri, Taika, and Pacifica made their way through the kitchen, with only the Maestro of the trio catching that Rebecca was on the couch. He found his way into the dark living room, whilst Pacifica and Taika continued into the back part of the house to change into their pajamas.

“How’d it go?” Rebecca addressed her Maestro as he approached. The lights in the kitchen had been dimmed (probably by Priscilla when she noticed Rebecca fast asleep), so she only knew it was Shouri based on his silhouette. Though Shouri himself faced no such trouble thanks to Taika sharing her night vision with him.

“Piece of cake.” Despite saying this, it was clear something was bothering him.

“What’s wrong?” Rebecca questioned as he sat on the couch with her.

For a moment the two sat in silence, Shouri slightly hunched over while fiddling with his hands. “You’ve had a lot of Maestros Rebecca,” he began. She tensed slightly, gripping the edge of her red pajama top. “How do I compare to them? Am I weird?”

Rebecca raised a brow, confused at the sudden request. “I mean, none of them have ever asked me that,” she replied off the dome. That wasn’t what he was asking, and she was well aware of that. With a grunt and a hum, she pondered her month-long tenure under his care. “You’re the best Maestro I’ve ever had,” ended up being the words she decided on.

“How so?” he shot back.

She was prepared this time and immediately had her reply ready: “You’re strong and kind. You don’t treat us as your weapons or trophies.”

Lowering her head, she tried to parse through her swirling mind as this conversation had inspired a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. “It feels… more like we’re a family,” she said.

“Is that really it?” Shouri breathed out. “Just… treat Resonators like people?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve only been a Maestro proper for three months, but other people are starting to consider us strong. I don’t do anything special with you all. You’re just strong on your own.”

“Oh.” It suddenly clicked for Rebecca. Something must have happened at the hunt tonight that put Shouri on a pedestal in comparison to his contemporaries.

“Don’t worry about that Sho.” Rebecca scooted closer to him. She rested her head on the shoulder available to her. “It’s not worth your time.”

A sharp exhale followed as Shouri leaned back, being sure to allow Rebecca to continue leaning on him. “If you say so,” he whispered.

Rebecca smiled contentedly. “I wasn’t a bunch of hot air when I said you’re the best I’ve ever had.”