"Boys," she said gently, "if you're done destroying my home, Then come eat something before the trials."
Kairo and Takumi turned with excitement towards her.
"Yeah, yeah!" Takumi said, Walking toward the table. "Can't fight on an empty stomach now can we?"
"You can't do anything on an empty stomach. Literally." Kairo muttered, finally abandoning his attempt to look cool. He went to the kitchen to grab a towel. "Where's the fourth member of our 'rusty set' anyway?"
As if summoned by the very mention of him, Shion stepped through the open doors Takumi had left ajar on his way in.
He spotted them at the dining area and began walking toward them...completely unaware of the suspiciously shiny floor ahead.
Takumi, Kairo, and Itsuki all trying to keep straight and serious faces, their lips twitching as they fought to hold back laughter.
Shion's foot touched the slick spot.
SHLP!
His legs went out from under him, and he landed squarely on his backside with a spectacular landing.
THUD!
A second bowl of water, carefully positioned for maximum chaos, tipped over from the counter—
SPLOOSH!
—and poured straight onto his head. (Itsuki's logic - If the first one misses, the second one won't)
There was silence for a while, then...
The trio exploded into laughter, clutching their sides as Shion sat there with his clothes soaked in so much water.
DRIP... DRIP... DRIP...
"NOOOOO—" Shion shot upright. "My special training clothes that I spent hours washing just for this day!"
The laughter slowly dying down.
"You didn't... wash those, did you?" Kairo said, raising an eyebrow and trying to prevent his smile from showing.
Shion blinked, water dripping from his hair. "Yeah... I didn't. My dad did."
"No, he didn't," Itsuki said, fighting to keep his face straight.
"Yeah, he didn't," Shion admitted quietly.
Takumi leaned back in his chair, grinning. "You haven't washed those since last year...when you wore them to the local dojo trials."
Shion stared at his three friends with the straightest, most serious face imaginable.
Another moment of stunned silence came...
Then the trio burst out laughing all over again, clutching their sides as Shion sat in his puddle, looking utterly defeated.
Kaito rose from his chair and walked over to where Shion had fallen. "That's enough laughing for one morning," he said, offering his hand to help Shion up.
The boys quickly finished their breakfast, shoveling down the last bites of scrambled eggs and bread. Shion stood dripping in the corner, pulling on one of Itsuki's spare training shirts without asking.
Meanwhile, Itsuki was too busy washing his plate to notice shion background activity.
Minutes later, the four of them gathered by the door. Nina handed out mini cakes she made yesterday for today.
"Ah—Mom, when did you make those? I didn't even see them!" Itsuki said, eyes wide at the neatly plated cakes.
"Of course I had to hide them," his mother said, hands on her hips. "Otherwise, you or your father would've finished them before today."
Itsuki and Kaito froze, looking at each other like thieves who just got caught. Then both slowly turned toward Kairo, Shion, and Takumi, who were already eating their cake with straight faces...nodding like they have never seen them before in their lives.
Kaito cleared his throat. "Ahem... yes, very... disciplined baking, dear." His voice cracked halfway through, and Itsuki snorted but he had to remain composed.
Nina sighed, though she couldn't help but smile. For all their bluster, they were still just a family...chaotic and loud, but hers.
The laughter faded, a calm settling over the table. Then one by one, their smiles slipped away, Everyone was getting a little serious.
"Stay together," Nina said softly, her hand lingering on Itsuki's shoulder.
"We will," Itsuki promised.
Kaito stepped forward, placing a firm hand on his son's head. "Don't overthink it. Trust your training and most importantly, trust each other."
Itsuki nodded, feeling the weight of the moment settle over him.
Four friends were walking in the morning air of Mistfall. The view on the streets became clearer, and with that, activity sprang up in the streets. Shopkeepers were rushing to clean their doorsteps, calling greetings to each other. Essence-powered wind chimes hung in almost every nook and cranny, their soft melody mingling with the noises from the waking town.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
There was some faraway banging, rocks being hammered, perhaps contests between footfalls and the master's will.
Other young Virelians were already moving through the streets, all heading in the same direction...down to the dojo district, where the trials would be hosted. Some walked alone, faces set with grim determination. Others traveled in small groups, nervously whispering to one another.
"Look at them all," Shion whispered as he already had his notebook out and was putting it to work despite the fact that the pages were still slightly damp from his hand sweat. Pencil strokes covered the page briskly, capturing the scene. "So many hopefuls. So many different abilities."
"More competition," Kairo observed, though there was no concern in his tone. Quite the opposite: It seemed to energize him, his dark eyes roaming the crowd with interest.
"Competition's good," said Takumi as sparks briefly danced across his knuckles, which were quickly clenched. "It makes us push harder. Besides, if we can't handle a few tests, what business do we have dreaming about the Beyond?"
"The Beyond," Itsuki whispered, gaze drifting down toward the horizon where Mistfall's buildings gave way to the wild unknown.
That was where he belonged: out there, somewhere in the unknown, mapping out what lay beyond. Becoming strong enough that his nightmares of darkness would never touch him.
"Astralyn to Itsuki," Takumi waved a hand across his face. "You did that thing again... zoning out."
"That's my thing," Shion grumbled, not looking up from his sketching.
"Sorry," Itsuki trailed off. "Just thinking about what comes after today."
"Get through today first," Kairo said. "Worry about tomorrow when it arrives."
They passed Miss Etta's bakery, and the old woman caught sight of them through the window. She waved her hand and looked meaningfully at the clock, shaking her head... implying a reminder of all the times that they'd been late for training and had been too busy eating sweet rolls to do anything else.
"At least we're early today," Shion muttered.
"First time for everything," Kairo said.
"I'm always early," Takumi said.
All three of his friends stopped and stared at him.
"What?"
"You were late to your own birthday party last year," Itsuki answered.
"It started at noon!"
"Exactly."
Walking on, Shion suddenly halted in his tracks, eyes facing down.
"Shion?" Itsuki touched his shoulder. "You having a vision?"
"Yeah... I see... Oh, no."
"What? What do you see?"
"I see Takumi tripping over his own feet in approximately..." Shion tilted his head.
"Three... two... one—"
"I'm not going to—WHOA!" Takumi suddenly stumbled over nothing, windmilling his arms until Kairo caught him.
"Your visions are getting weirdly specific," Kairo said, steadying Takumi.
"I've been practicing on low-stakes predictions," Shion said, making a note in his book. "Results: still hilarious."
"I hate you all," Takumi groaned.
As they neared the dojo district, the streets began to swarm with even more candidates.
Another group strolls by: three girls who looked incredibly serious, already in formation like they were heading into a fricking battle.
Shion's eyes glazed over for a moment. "Huh."
"What?" Takumi asked nervously.
"Nothing. Just saw a funny vision."
"Funny how?"
"Funny like one trips during the trials and takes down the other two."
Takumi frowned. "That's... not funny."
But as they walked off, he hesitated, glancing back at them. "Still, maybe I should warn them."
Before anyone could stop him, he jogged after the trio.
Kairo raised an eyebrow. "Is he actually—?"
"Yup," Shion grinned.
After a few seconds, several startled shouts stirred the air. Takumi came flying backward—quite literally—being tossed by a burst of controlled essence that spun him midair before dropping him flat on the ground right in front of them.
The thud echoed... then laughter followed.
Pfft—
Itsuki couldn't contain himself. Kairo snorted. Shion...Shion lost it, dropping to the floor clutching his stomach, laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.
"On the ground, hair smoking faintly."
"I hate you so much," Takumi groaned.
Shion gasped through laughter. "Payback for this morning!"