From the shadows, Jimmy watched—kneeling behind a moss-draped boulder on the slope of a wooded hill. Trees leaned inward above him, canopies filtering the weak afternoon light into soft, flickering green.
Luna crouched beside him.
"When the she is in danger," Jimmy murmured, tapping his fingers twice against the stone. "Then we move."
Below, in a half-sunken grove surrounded by thick underbrush, a lone girl stood. Glasses slipped on the bridge of her nose. Her hair was chestnut brown and shoulder-length, the back uneven like she'd cut it herself. She hugged her tags close.
Her name tag flashed briefly from her shoulder.
A27.
The boy in front of her — lean, dark eyes, aggressive stance — raised his voice.
"Give us the tag. No one's watching out here."
Four others surrounded her like shadows from the trees.
"Don't drag this out," another barked. "Or we'll make it ugly."
The girl backed up slightly.
Her hand trembled toward her satchel — then stopped.
A low growl rolled out beside her.
Her whisp had stepped forward.
"Still got a spine, huh?" the striped-brow leader muttered. "Alright."
He tossed out his Whisp. Ling Cube. A
The second boy summoned Ferrofang — a steel-plated hyena Whisp with bronze jaws and blade-like claws. It snarled, eyes scanning both of them.
The air grew tight.
The girl's whisp took a defiant step forward—but even it looked nervous. It couldn't face five at once.
Then—
A sharp whistle cut through the wind.
Everyone froze.
Heads turned.
On the sloped rock ledge above them, framed by mist and hanging vines, stood a blindfolded figure in a black coat. A breeze tugged at his hem.
Beside him…
Luna stepped into view.
Her fur shimmered. Static danced across her shoulders. Her mane crackled with growing current.
"Who—" the striped-brow boy started, but his voice faltered.
Jimmy just lifted one hand and pointed.
To the clouds.
Then—
Downward.
.......................
The air thickened. Leaves rustled. The challengers suddenly felt it:
Weight. Something danger.
She clutched her satchel tightly, her voice barely a whisper seeing him:
"Y-You… following me…"
Her glasses fogged from the mist.
But her smile broke through the fear.
As if hope had returned with the rain.
One of the attackers gritted his teeth.
"Tch—who the hell is this guy?!"
"Doesn't matter," another hissed. "Let's take them both!"
Ferrofang growled.
Ling Cube's glyphs rotated faster.
..................
Then another.
The boy with the striped brow tried to steady his voice. "What the hell kind of act is this?"
His friend scoffed. "The blindfold guy thinks he's some kind of mountain monk?"
Another one laughed, too sharp. "Or maybe he's just hiding those scared little eyes. Come on, girl—give us the tags, and we won't even touch that clown."
The girl flinched. Her hand tightened at her side, but she didn't step back.
Jimmy said nothing. His blindfold didn't twitch, but his head tilted slightly.
Overhead, a faint rumble cracked through the sky. Thunder? Or something closer?
Luna's paws touched the air — softly. And nature responded.
A cold ripple swept through the glade.
The bronze-plated hyena-Whisp twitched. Its claws scraped the dirt, body recoiling before it even understood why.
The Ling Cube jerked mid-air, glyphs flickering red.
"What the—" the leader barked, mask of bravado cracking.
"Call them. Now. All of them."
One by one, the remaining three called out their Whisps—this time, not to flex dominance.
To defend.
A burning whip-coil Whisp slithered in, bands of red-hot metal writhing.
A black beetle with obsidian mandibles slammed into the ground, legs vibrating in warning.
A fog-hound with trailing mist emerged behind the last boy, snarling, ready to vanish at any sign of danger.
They surrounded Luna.
But none of them moved.
The mist rolled thicker now, blanketing the slope. Luna's mane gleamed with a cold brilliance.
The cocky boy spoke again, voice strained now. "She's not even moving! Why does it feel like—"
"—Like we already lost in mist?" the beetle-user whispered, backing up a step.
"Shut up," snapped the leader, though even his own breath betrayed him.
Jimmy raised a single finger.
Then calmly turned his hand, palm facing down… and clenched it.
Boom.
A pulse rippled across the grass — not loud, but absolute.
The girl beside the rock bear blinked, stunned. Then looked to Jimmy.
His posture hadn't changed. He was letting them walk into the noose.
Then she said it—quiet, but with a steel edge:
"I'll handle them."
Jimmy tilted his head toward her—just a fraction. Then stopped.
A sign of approval.
The attackers blinked.
"She's bluffing," the whip-user hissed. "She was shaking just a minute ago!"
...................
The girl stepped forward.
Her Rock Bear gave a low, tectonic growl — deep, like stone shifting underground. Its paws crushed the moss beneath, shoulders bristling with jagged gravel.
She didn't yell.
The hyena-Whisp gave a startled yelp and stepped backward, lowering its head.
The fog-hound turned, ears flat, retreating closer to its trainer.
Even the Ling Cube trembled slightly,
Rain hit hard now — a steady drumbeat on leaves and skin.
From above the ridge, Jimmy remained still.
Blindfolded and catching the droplets but his expression unreadable.
Watching.
One of the enemy boys laughed nervously.
"H-Hey, what's this now? That girl? Alone?" He scoffed. "What's she gonna do—lecture us to death?"
Another tried to echo the mockery. "Yeah, the shy girl got guts now just 'cause some blind coat freak shows up? Please."
But their voices were thin. Wavering.
..........................................
Boom.
The Rock Bear stomped forward, sending a rippling quake across the glade. Pebbles flew. Two enemy Whisps staggered. The mist-hound was thrown off its footing, sliding back into the trees.
"CRUSH FIELD!" she called.
The bear spun in a half-circle and slammed both fists into the ground. A web of glowing tectonic lines shot forward, like a buried star exploding.
The beetle-Whisp charged — but too late.
Crack!
Stone pillars burst up beneath its legs, flipping it in midair. It thrashed, stuck upside-down in a trap of broken earth and rain-soaked stone.
The boy with the coil-whip Whisp panicked.
"Shock it! Burn through!"
The slithering creature lashed forward — but the girl raised two fingers.
"Grain Shell."
The Rock Bear inhaled, and its skin shimmered — its back grew a fresh coat of sharp crystal-rock scales. The whip snapped across its shoulder—
Ting!
The sound was muted. Like hitting a temple bell buried in sand.
The Rock Bear turned slowly.
Then headbutted the coil-Whisp across the slope — sending it crashing into the bronze hyena, knocking both down.
"Wh-what—?!" one of the attackers shouted, stepping back.
Then came the last.
The Ling Cube.
It whirled faster, then stuttered — spinning with glowing lines, psychic threads expanding in all directions.
"You think I won't fight a brain toy?" the girl snapped—finally finding her voice.
"Then watch."
The Rock Bear lifted its paw, and for a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Boom.
The very air cracked. A seismic pulse travelled across the battlefield
The Ling Cube shrieked. Its glyphs distorted, unable to focus in the fluctuating sound field.
It fell. Dropped like a stone. Unconscious.
The five trainers stood there, soaked, stunned.
One dropped to his knees.
Another simply stared, lips parted, unable to process.
Jimmy finally stepped forward. Slowly. Deliberate.
The girl exhaled. Rain clinging to her glasses.
..................................................
Rain still fell lightly. Mist drifted over the broken field. The five opponents lay scattered—defeated, their Whisps already withdrawn or hiding behind them.
Eloa stood quietly, her Rock Bear breathing beside her. Pebbles slid gently off its shoulders. Her hands were shaking slightly, not from fear—but from the weight of it all.
Jimmy approached without a word. Luna padded beside him, eyes watchful but at ease.
He stopped just in front of her.
"You did well," he said, voice calm.
Eloa flinched a little at first. "I… I didn't mean to… scare them that much."
Jimmy looked at her. Luna said from Jimmy "You didn't overdo it. You protected yourself. That's enough."
She lowered her eyes, brushing wet hair behind her ear. "I… I wasn't sure if I could. But Rock Bear just… moved."
Jimmy nodded once.
He reached into his coat, pulling out a few scattered trainer tags — the ones dropped or left behind.
He held them out. "Take these."
Eloa blinked. "M-Me? But… you were here too…"
"They're yours. You fought. You stood your ground." He paused, voice steady. "Don't lose them."
She hesitated, then took the tags with both hands, cradling them like something fragile. "Thank you… um…"
Jimmy looked at her. Luna asked "What's your name?"
"…E-Eloa."
A small nod. "Nice work, Eloa."
He turned without another word.
She looked up suddenly. "W-Wait! Where are you going?"
Jimmy didn't stop walking and said by sign "I'm done here."
Luna gave Rock Bear a soft glance before following.
"I-I don't think I'm stronger than you…" Eloa said, voice soft behind him.
Luna replied just once as the mist closed in:
"Onnnn..... I think you are."
And then he was gone.
Eloa stood alone in the rain — not scared, not confused — just holding onto the tags and the quiet feeling that maybe, for the first time, she mattered.
To Be Continued…