Later that day, after classes had ended and most students scattered like caffeinated pigeons, Kagetsu stood with his arms crossed just outside the dorms.
Ezren slouched beside him, sipping from a juice box like it contained the answers to life.
"Sooo... we're waiting here because?"
"We need to get stronger. Fast," Kagetsu said simply. "We're a team now. That means we all train."
Ezren groaned. "You sound like a gym coach with a vengeance."
"Discipline wins battles. Whining loses them."
"Pretty sure juice boxes win too."
Just then, Mira walked past them, completely silent, her school bag slung over her shoulder like it weighed nothing.
Kagetsu stepped forward.
"Hey. Mira."
She paused, turning her head slightly but saying nothing.
"You're on our team now. Come train with us."
She blinked slowly, as if processing it.
"…Why?"
"We're not exactly dream team material yet," Kagetsu replied. "If we're going to survive whatever this school throws at us, we need to work together."
Mira stared for a long moment.
Then—she nodded.
Ten minutes later – Training Field C
They stood in a large open space on the academy's edge, where shattered dummies and craters in the grass made it very clear this was where students went to suffer voluntarily.
Ezren cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, team-building exercise time. How about a spar? Just for fun!" He winked at Mira.
"C'mon, let's see what you've got. I promise to go easy on you."
Mira tilted her head.
"…Okay."
Kagetsu sat down on a nearby rock.
"This'll be good."
Ezren dropped into a basic stance, smirking.
"Alright, let's keep it clean, no summoning boulders or—"
BOOM.
Before he could even blink, Mira stomped her foot, and a ripple of magic surged through the ground. A massive earthen fist erupted from below, smashing straight into Ezren's chest.
He was sent flying a good fifteen feet back, landing in a pile of hay with a loud "OOF—WHY IS THERE HAY HERE?!"
Silence.
Then—
Kagetsu burst out laughing.
"You said you'd go easy, Ezren. Guess she didn't."
Ezren flailed from the hay like an angry ferret.
"You call that EARTH magic?! That was VIOLENCE!"
Mira stood still, completely expressionless…
But for the briefest moment, the corners of her lips twitched into the tiniest smile.
Kagetsu didn't notice. He was still chuckling.
Ezren stood up, brushing hay from his hair.
"Okay. So Mira is terrifying. Noted. Great team bonding, ten outta ten."
"You said you wanted to spar," Kagetsu said.
"I thought I'd live to talk about it!"
Mira finally spoke again, her voice quiet.
"…You're not bad."
Ezren blinked.
"…Was that a compliment?"
Kagetsu smirked.
"Either that or a warning."
The three stood there under the fading sunlight—one bruised, one amused, and one just barely smiling.
For the first time, they didn't feel like strangers thrown together by random scroll magic.
They felt a little like a team.