The next day, it began to snow for the first time since the children arrived.
The white sheets covering the streets of Tokyo signaled winter's onset. The relatively few buildings that surrounded the compound were all covered in inches upon inches of snow, while the streets closer to the city were already being cleared out by snowplows.
Most of the compound residents were gathered outside on this winter morning, staring at the snow covering the garden and graveyard they stood in front of.
"This means there's only a few more weeks until the cherry blossoms bloom." Vida looked up at the empty, snow-covered branches of the cherry blossom tree standing in the center of the garden.
"Yeah. They're beautiful." Hendrix let out a slight smile as he looked down at her.
Vida blushed as she remembered their conversation on the way to the airport.
"School's probably out for the day." Ginji chuckled as he lifted his boot, examining the depth of the sheet of snow.
"I wish I'd gone to school." Kai spoke, not thinking much of it. The rest of the group went silent, looking at Kai as he stomped through the snow.
"I never even thought about it. Kai and Taro never went to school. They've been at the D.C compound their whole lives." Akilah thought, staring as the two brothers wrestled in the snow.
"You kids aren't in school?" Asuka asked, wrapping her arm around her husband for warmth.
"We stopped going in our first year of high school. That was…" Chase put a finger to his chin as he tried to recall the timeline.
"Two years ago." Amora giggled at Chase.
Ginji and Asuka looked at each other with worry in their eyes.
"You guys should live your lives, you're still kids, after all." Ginji said.
"We'd rather change the world. That's what we're doing it all for." Taro answered. "I wouldn't wanna go to school to learn about the bullshit they're teaching people."
Ginji and Asuka looked at each other once more. They nodded, equal parts surprised and shocked, but they completely understood.
"Alright, you three, I said we would do some training, and I'm gonna stick to that promise!" Alex clapped, getting the attention of the three boys.
Taro and Chase groaned, dragging their feet through the snow and towards the gymnasium. Hendrix waved goodbye to Vida before making his way inside, as well.
Vida waved back, still a little flustered from Hendrix's comment.
"I need you too, Kai." Alex waved to the teen.
Kai pointed at himself, surprised, before following his friends inside.
Ginji and Asuka looked at the boys as they trudged through the snow.
"Those kids. They would throw their life away for each other, no, anyone if it meant making the world a better place." Asuka muttered to her husband, who nodded in agreement.
Inside the gym, Kai and Taro tussled with each other, slipping over the melted snow under their boots.
Hendrix leaned against a wall, noodling on his guitar as Chase assembled a gun he had been workshopping the design of.
"Alright! We're gonna play a game we haven't played in a while to get you ready for the mission." Alex walked into the gym. "Do you guys remember the match we had in the courtyard, back in D.C?"
Hendrix nodded, just as Kai and Taro's eyes lit up at the memory of the day.
"Wait, what?!" Chase suddenly felt left out as he watched his friends' memories come flooding back in.
"Oh, right." Alex chuckled at Chase's confusion. "I'll explain the rules. You three are gonna work as a team to try and hit me with a clean blow."
The group smirked at each other, their excitement growing with every word.
"But, I gotta admit. You guys have gotten strong." Alex threw her hands up sarcastically. "So, Kai is gonna be on my team, to make things a little challenging."
Kai's eyes lit up as his three friends looked at each other, their excitement being replaced with uncertainty.
"This should be the right call. Chase isn't used to working in teams, so this should get him ready for the real thing." Alex thought.
Kai sped over to Alex's side, striking a superhero pose as he did.
"Also, Chase." Alex pointed to the blue-haired boy. "Use rubber bullets. You might hurt Kai."
"You're right." Chase groaned, manifesting a magazine of rubber bullets before locking it into the magwell.
Taro noticed his brother putting on equipping gloves, the same ones he used the last time they sparred.
"Oh shit. That move." Taro thought as he saw his brother's mischievous grin.
"If we're all ready, then we can start…" Alex put her fists in front of her, her green hair flowing forward as her Spirit glowed from her hands. "Now!"
Kai sped in front of Alex, charging straight into his three opponents.
Taro knew better than to charge at his brother. He crossed his arms in front of him as Kai grew closer.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Chase shot three rubber bullets towards the speedster, one hitting just above his knee.
Kai tumbled over himself, losing his balance over the shock of the sharp pain.
"God dammit!" Kai held his leg as he got to his feet. "Those still hurt!"
"Never said they wouldn't-" Chase's quip was interrupted.
Alex threw a left hook into Chase's cheek, landing with violent force.
Chase was tossed onto his back.
The blue-haired boy groaned as he sat up, shaking his head to try to get rid of some of the pain.
"Stay on your toes!" Alex exclaimed, charging at Chase.
Chase looked around him, frantically searching for his pistols.
Alex reeled her fist back, ready to strike the boy once again.
Shing
Hendrix's strings divided Alex and Chase, wrapping around themselves in a mess of steel.
The steel tendrils quickly turned inward, making their way around Alex's torso.
Alex jumped up, trying to escape before the strings tightened around her.
She pushed her boots off of the strings, jumping backwards and landing on the finished wood.
"Okay." Hendrix muttered under his breath, reeling his strings back in as he tried to collect his thoughts.
Hendrix shot his strings out again, this time curving towards Alex as they spread out.
Alex got ready to evade the strings, twisting sideways to make her way between them.
Zzt
The strings stopped, reeling backwards with significantly less force.
Alex looked over to Hendrix to see a sight she couldn't have expected.
Kai pressed his glove to Hendrix's side, sending a current of electricity through his body.
Hendrix's entire body jolted violently, stumbling onto his back before he sat up, confused.
"Woah, woah, woah! What the hell?!" Chase pointed his gun at Kai on instinct, jumping back. "What was that?!"
"A new ability?" Alex asked Kai, who chuckled and nodded in response.
"I call it-" Kai's boasting was interrupted by the strings sneaking their way around his torso.
The steel strings tightened around his arms and abdomen as Kai clicked his tongue in frustration.
"God dammit-" Kai was thrown across the court as Hendrix reeled his strings back, standing up and wiping the dust off of his patch pants.
Thud
Kai hit the polished wood, immediately jumping onto his feet as he sped back into the action.
"Watch out!" Taro yelled at Hendrix.
Alex approached with a right hook, aiming straight for Hendrix's abdomen.
Taro pulled Hendrix back by his arm.
Hendrix felt the wind of Alex's strike, only millimeters away from hitting him.
As the two boys both collected their thoughts, Chase joined their side, the three staring down their two opponents.
"Thanks." Hendrix muttered to Taro.
"We gotta work together. That's what we learned last time." Taro responded, trying to make sure Chase heard as well.
"Listen, now that you've all gotten your strengths and weaknesses, you've gotta make your strategy around that." Alex explained from across the court. "For instance, Hendrix has the most control over a battle, so-"
Chase grit his teeth at the very suggestion that Hendrix was the strongest on the team. He raised his pistols without thinking, firing a barrage of rubber bullets at his two enemies.
"Chase, c'mon!" Taro yelled at his teammate.
"If he keeps shooting at random, then…" Taro thought as his fear became a reality.
Click. Click. Click.
The bullets stopped, even though Chase was pulling the trigger.
"Shit." Chase muttered as he manifested another magazine of rubber bullets.
Zzt
Before he could reload his gun, Kai struck him with his electric charge to the shoulder.
Chase fell to the floor as his body jolted violently before going limp.
"You idiot!" Taro muttered to the groaning Chase, throwing a right hook at his brother.
"Nope!" Alex caught Taro's fist, reeling her fist back for a counterattack.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Hendrix's strings shooting towards her, wrapped into a ball that was heading straight for her torso.
She grinned, using Taro's fist to pull him into the path of the ball of steel string.
Bam
Taro gasped as the steel ball charged into his abdomen.
He was thrown back, landing on his stomach. He curled into a ball, wincing at the pain.
Alex turned her attention to Hendrix, who was looking past her to make sure his teammate was alright.
"Eyes on me!" Alex exclaimed as she landed a clean blow to Hendrix's stomach.
Hendrix felt the wind escape his lungs, doubling over in pain.
All three of the boys laid on the ground, reeling from pain.
"The way this is going, we won't have a chance at winning." Hendrix thought as he looked at his two fallen teammates, experiencing the same pain.
Taro glanced at Hendrix, letting out a tsk as he examined the same situation his teammate was investigating.