Far from the academy, in a quiet apartment overlooking the city—
Ishawa sat on the floor, back against his couch, a half-empty cup of instant noodles forgotten beside him.
The TV was off.
Every light in the room was on.
In front of him, a small talisman hovered mid-air, trembling slightly, its ink lines glowing faintly as it reacted to something far beyond its intended range.
"So it finally started…" Ishawa murmured.
He smiled.
Just a little.
But his fingers tightened around the edge of the cup hard enough to crumple it.
"Don't die, Sensei," he said softly. "That would be… inconvenient."
The talisman flickered violently.
Ishawa's smile thinned.
"…And messy."
---
The Academy — Fracture
The moment Yanshi moved, the world answered.
Flames tore through the underground corridor, not wild, not uncontrolled — but sharp, focused, devastating. The first attacker barely had time to brace before being hurled backward, his silhouette swallowed by fire.
The remaining two reacted instantly.
One vanished into the shadows, the other stepping forward as the air around him distorted unnaturally, absorbing heat instead of burning.
"Split them!" Miss Shiratori shouted.
The chamber erupted into motion.
Teachers moved students. Students ran. Wards flared and collapsed in rapid succession, each one buying seconds — precious, fragile seconds.
Tobi felt Iruka grab his arm.
"This way!"
They ran.
Not blindly — instinctively.
The corridors twisted as emergency barriers redirected foot traffic, forcing groups apart to prevent mass casualties. Screams echoed. Footsteps pounded. Somewhere above, something heavy crashed through stone.
Mizumi stumbled, caught herself, then turned back.
"Sumi!"
"I'm here," Sumi replied, already beside her. Her eyes were glowing faintly now — not with power, but calculation.
"They're herding us," Sumi said. "Like prey."
Tobi felt it too.
The sword inside him vibrated — not screaming, not urging him forward.
Warning.
---
The Hunter Shows Himself
The shadows ahead thickened.
A figure stepped out casually, hands in pockets, boots crunching softly against broken tile.
"Running already?" the fox-masked man said lightly. "I thought the Last Swordsman would be… louder."
Tobi stopped.
Iruka cursed under his breath. "Of course it's you."
The fox mask tilted. "Oh? We've met?"
"No," Iruka said. "But I don't like your face."
The man laughed.
Sumi moved forward half a step. "You're separating us from Sensei."
"Correct," he replied cheerfully. "Can't have teachers stealing all the fun."
The air behind him warped.
Another presence pressed in — cold, precise, patient.
"Two," Mizumi whispered. "There are two here."
The sword inside Tobi surged once.
He drew it.
Light and shadow slid into place with a sound like breath being taken.
The fox-masked man's visible eye sharpened.
"There it is," he said. "You really are awake now."
---
Elsewhere — Fire and Steel
Yanshi crashed through a collapsed wall, flames coiling around him like living things.
One attacker met him head-on, forming a barrier of compressed darkness that screeched as fire scraped against it.
"You're strong," the attacker said calmly. "But predictable."
Yanshi smiled.
"Good," he replied. "That means you planned wrong."
He twisted mid-strike, flames detonating behind the barrier instead of against it.
The explosion tore the corridor apart.
The third attacker dropped from above, blade flashing — only to be caught mid-swing by a wall of fire that hardened instantly, locking his arm in place.
Yanshi's eyes burned.
"You chose the wrong school," he said.
The attackers didn't retreat.
They adjusted.
And that worried him more than fear ever could.
---
Choice Under Pressure
Back in the corridor, the second attacker finally stepped fully into view.
Tall. Pale. Expressionless.
"You shouldn't be here," he said to Tobi. "Your existence destabilizes probability."
Iruka barked a laugh. "That's a new insult."
The man ignored him.
Sumi's breath caught.
She felt it now — the pull. Not toward the enemy.
Toward Tobi.
A quiet pressure, like something tightening around her chest.
Restriction.
She hid it.
Tobi noticed anyway.
"Sumi," he said quietly, not looking away from the attackers. "Stay back."
She shook her head once. "No."
The fox-masked man sighed theatrically. "Ah. This is the part where someone gets hurt."
He snapped his fingers.
The lights died.
Darkness swallowed the corridor.
Then—
Light and shadow ignited together as Tobi stepped forward, blade raised, eyes steady despite the chaos roaring around him.
"I'm not running anymore," he said.
The darkness laughed.
The blade answered.
And across the academy, as fire and fear and resolve collided—
The night finally broke.