The last image that appeared before Hiroku's fainting eyes was Loter standing before him. Zayio was yelling in pain, rolling on the ground, and covering his own face. Loter drew back his fist, and everything faded to black.

Hiroku sat on his mattress against the wooden wall. The stack of books had already scattered beside him. His spare clothes, both the pullover and the crop top, were thrown carelessly on the ground. Bits of blood still seeped out of the bandage on his left shoulder.

Fuck. Fuck!

Hiroku struck the wall with the side of his fist and did it again. The wood chirped behind him. He panted heavily while deliberately blowing out his every exhalation in anger.

The rage was complicated. It targeted many things: Loter for breaking the rule, Kayamas for jailing Loter, himself for his incompetence, but mostly his own ego.

Just like what Loter had said, there was nothing to prove. Hiroku could lie to Loter about his intention. Yet, at the end of the day, he saw through his own facade.

Interruption during a duel is one of the worst sins in Tribe Kayama. I can't have Loter beheaded here.

Hiroku closed his eyes and began rubbing his eyelids. The frown on his brows was deeper than his casual knit.

I'll wait for Ramiron to come back. I hope what happened to Loter did not affect her treatment.

Thinking about it, Hiroku bashed his own head several times before curling and hugging his legs.

It's all my fault. I should never have challenged that bastard Zayio. He was intending to kill me. I should've known it. I should've died there. I should be the one facing death, not Loter.

Hiroku propped his head on his knees with his eyes softly closed under the tiredness of recovery and the pressure of guilt. Slowly, thoughts dimmed, and feelings drifted away. On the edge of consciousness, Hiroku heard three quick knocks on the door, not too loud, not too soft.

That pattern… It's the rhythm of emergent events. Ram is here.

"Ramiron," Hiroku called. He crawled up from the tatami and made three quick strides to the door. Only when he was sliding the door open, he recalled that Ramiron did not know the knocking rules of Tribe Kayama.

"We have to save Loter." Tori stood before Hiroku right outside his cottage. Her raised brows were drowning in franticness. She leaned forward on her tiptoes, and her hands were held together before her chest.

"I know. I've been thinking about it." Hiroku went back to his mattress to put on his clothes. Tori took off her shoes and followed in.

"Do you have any plans?" She asked while closing the door.

"I don't know. I'm still thinking." Hiroku leaned against the wall, crossing his arms before his chest. He had mixed feelings about Tori's involvement.

On one hand, Tori may get herself in trouble if others found out she had not only been sneaking out but also meeting the rule breaker. On the other hand, Hiroku needed all the help he could receive to help Loter.

"Ah, this is bad. This is so bad," Tori mumbled in Habanese and crouched down with her hands on her head.

The low-pitch mutter irritated Hiroku. He asked in a voice audibly louder than usual, "Are you here to help or whine?"

Tori rubbed her face and stood back up. "Sorry," she softly and weakly responded in Habanese.

"Tori, you've been here far longer than I have. Do you think they will let Loter go because he's an outsider?" Hiroku asked in English since he was more comfortable with it. The unpleasant conversation continued with Tori speaking Habanese and Hiroku replying in English.

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Tori stayed silent for several seconds, taking her time to form her sentence. "I used to have three brothers. The biggest one interrupted a duel between two members of a side sub-branch. Now, I only have two brothers."

"Damn…"

"Besides, Zayio was hurt. His bloodline is too close to the main bloodline. They won't go easy on Loter." Tori's voice lowered and faded as she spoke.

Hiroku closed his eyes and rubbed them forcefully with one hand. "I still can't fathom. How on earth could Loter ever hurt Zayio? I didn't really see what happened."

"I heard Loter just deflected the Flame Throw, and it hit Zayio unprotected."

"Why didn't he block it?"

"He can't."

"Hm?" Hiroku paused his hand, opening his eyes in surprise.

"You didn't practice your magic, so you might not know, but Kayamas can not defend against spells cast by themselves. Zayio could not block that Flame Throw."

"Oh, yes. I remembered now. I think my father had told me this before."

The two fell into silence as the sentence ended. The quietness was maintained for about a minute. Hiroku had his eyes tightly closed, and Tori sat on the pillow before the table. She stared at the table with a light frown and pouted lips.

Eventually, she sighed, catching Hiroku's attention. She said, "Hiroku, how strong is Loter?"

Upon hearing the question, Hiroku closed his eyes again. "He can't break out of jail and swim across the ocean."

"No, I'm thinking about a duel."

"Hm?"

Tori looked toward the corner of her sight and explained, "If Loter can win a duel against one of the higher-ups, he might win his way out of punishment."

"I don't," Hiroku slowly said while opening his eyes, "Understand."

"The traditional way for Kayama men to settle unsolvable disagreement is through duels. If Loter insists on not getting punishment, he could start a duel to settle this disagreement of whether he should be punished or not."

"It sounds like a stretch, and let's say the plan worked. Who would be fighting Loter? Supposedly, one of the judges back then? If that's the case, Loter does not stand a chance—"

"But he knocked out Zayio in a single strike," Tori immediately interjected, leaning forward to insist on her point. Her volume was louder than usual. Her voice was filled with an obvious assertion.

Then, she leaned back, looked away, and hid her hands behind her hips. "Sorry," she added in a murmuring voice.

"Don't be. It's alright… It's natural to be emotional," Hiroku replied. There was not much intonation or cadence in his words. His tone was even blander than usual. He always found himself calmer when others were emotional.

"Thanks—" Tori halted herself and turned toward Hiroku. There was a spark in her eyes. She proceeded, "Ramiron, she defeated the young master! She can be the one taking the duel."

Hiroku let out a puff of air and said, "Ramiron did not have her full power now, and she only pulled that off in a simulation. She can't defeat Kirane when he had full access to Judgment Beyond Clouds and Sky."

"No, Kayamas want fair fights. They will wait until Ramiron fully recovers before dueling."

"Still. We don't know if Ramiron's Lumarion power can actually stand against Judgment Beyond Clouds and Sky, and it probably can't."

"No one would know if we don't try." Tori again raised her volume. She held her hands loosely before her chest, holding soft fists. "We can't just give up on Loter." Tori's reddened eyes became watery. Her lips were stretched downward.

Hiroku sighed, closed his eyes, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, trying his best to control his bad temper. He understood that Tori liked Loter very much, yet it was still irritating when she kept getting emotional while he was thinking.

Hiroku made another exhalation and inhalation before saying, "Calm down. You won't want others to see tears on your face. They will know you've been seeing us."

"I know. I'm sorry." Tori propped her elbows on the table and buried her face within. After several sniffles, Tori said, "I know. I shouldn't just expect her to risk her life to save Loter. After all, Zayio tried to kill you. But, please, my cousin." She gazed at Hiroku with tears gliding down her bloated cheeks. "Beg her if you need to. I don't want Loter to die."

Hiroku paused there for a second, fully surprised. He glanced away, looked back at Tori, and said, "I'll talk to Ramiron."

He knew Ramiron would fight whatever she had to fight for Loter's safety. If Hiroku were a bit more ignorant, he would have no problem letting Ramiron brawl the way out. Yet, he was too informed.

Ramiron would not prevail, and Hiroku knew it.

"I should probably go back now. They might get suspicious." Tori stood up from the pillow and sniffled as she went to the door.

"Do you mind if I ask a question before you leave?"

Tori stopped with a hand on the door plank. "Please, I'm listening."

"Why do you care so much about Loter? You only met him two to three times."

"Oh, uh," Tori shifted her eyes down as her fingers subconsciously held loosely together before her stomach. The melancholy on her face lightened when she raised her head again. "I just think he would do the same for me if I were in his situation."