Outside, the night air was still – punctuated only by the soft…
Chirp… chirp…
…of crickets hidden in the grass, their song filling the darkness like a whisper from the earth itself.
Two figures walked along the path weaving through the forest, chatting as they went.
One was Hikaru Nozomi, and the other – his soon-to-be-girlfriend – was Mei Tomita.
They were on their way to the Safehouse of the Order of the Elements. For Mei, this would be her first time ever seeing it.
"I see." Mei said, nodding thoughtfully. "There are seven of you guys in the Order now, huh?"
"Yes." Hikaru nodded. "There are only three more Elements left to go."
Mei looked ahead at the dirt path, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked.
"So you're the Light Element, Haruto is Water, Moriya is Wood, Reito is Ice, the other blonde guy is Thunder, and the last two are Earth and Air, correct?"
"That's right. Only the Elements of Fire, Darkness, and Steel remain." Hikaru confirmed.
Mei turned her head toward Hikaru, raising an eyebrow with mild curiosity.
"I'm surprised you guys haven't found the Element of Fire yet."
Hikaru glanced at her, curious himself.
"What do you mean, Mei?"
"I watch a lot of anime," Mei explained. "And from how the story usually goes, Fire is always one of the first Elements introduced. Sometimes it's even the main character's power."
"Is that so?" Hikaru said.
"Yeah!" Mei nodded, confident in her anime logic.
As they continued their walk through the trees, a large, worn-down building came into view. The bricks were faded, the roof slightly caved in at the corner, and vines crawled along the sides like fingers from the forest reclaiming what was once forgotten.
Mei narrowed her eyes at the sight of it.
"Hikaru, is that the safehouse?"
"Yeah." Hikaru nodded. He motioned toward the building with a grin. "Welcome to the Safehouse of the Order of the Elements, Mei!"
Mei stared at it, visibly unimpressed.
"It looks… abandoned and old, Hikaru."
Hikaru chuckled at her reaction.
"Trust me, Mei. I said the exact same thing the first time I saw it." He turned to her and gave a reassuring smile. "So… ready to come in?"
Mei nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement at what was inside.
Hikaru reached out and placed a hand on the door handle – and turned.
CREEAAAKKK…
Hikaru slowly opened the door of the safehouse. Mei's eyes immediately widened as she took in the view inside.
"Woah!" Mei breathed. "It's so modern and high-tech inside… compared to how it looks on the outside!"
Hikaru smiled proudly.
"Told you."
Both of them stepped into the safehouse. Mei looked around, her eyes gleaming as she admired the interior in awe.
"This place… is amazing!"
Then–
BAM!
Hikaru suddenly gasped for air as someone tacked him and lifted him off the ground, hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe.
"W-What the hell?!" Hikaru shouted, looking down.
It was Teshii, holding him in a crushing embrace.
"T-Teshii?"
"What's up, my baby brother! It's just your big bro giving you a big, tight hug!" Teshii said with a grin.
Hikaru, struggling to breathe, placed his hands on Teshii's head, trying to pry him off.
"C-Can you let go, Teshii?" I… can't… breathe!"
Teshii finally unwrapped his arms and let Hikaru go. Hikaru dropped to his feet, bending over and panting for air.
"Damn…" he muttered, still catching his breath.
Teshii chuckled and turned to the right – where he noticed Mei standing.
"Oh? Look at that, Rich Girl is also here."
Mei gave him a little wave.
"Hi, Teshii."
"Honestly…" Teshii adjusted his crimson sunglasses. "I did not expect to see you here, Rich Girl."
Mei giggled softly.
"Same."
Teshii turned his attention back to Hikaru.
"By the way, Sunshine, the Zephyr we met earlier? He was a fake."
Hikaru straightened up, now fully alert, and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, Teshii?"
"It was a mutant named Chameleon. He was disguised as Zephyr." Teshii explained.
"Disguised?"
"Yeah." Teshii nodded. "Chameleon's ability is shapeshifting."
"So what does that mean exactly?" Hikaru asked, growing serious.
"It means…" Teshii said darkly, turning toward both Hikaru and Mei, "…Chameleon can disguise himself as anyone."
He narrowed his gaze.
"And… it could be one of you two."
Both Hikaru and Mei blinked in confusion, surprised by the sudden suspicion.
Teshii pointed a finger toward Mei again.
"So, Rich Girl, how do I know I'm speaking to the real Rich Girl?"
"U-Um…" Mei stammered, caught off guard.
Hiikaru stepped between them, shielding Mei.
"Teshii, this is the real Mei. I've been with her this whole time while we were talking to Aoi."
"Oh really?" Teshii narrowed his eyes behind his shades. "Then tell me, Rich Girl – say something only the real Rich Girl would now."
"U-Um… I play for the local volleyball team?" Mei offered, nervously.
"Oh come on, everyone knows that," Teshii dismissed with a wave.
Mei gulped and glanced nervously at Hikaru, who simply stared at Teshii in disbelief. She took a deep breath, then blurted out:
"I… I… I love Hikaru with all of my heart!"
Silence…
Hikaru slowly turned to Mei, his face completely red.
"Huh?"
Teshii immediately grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
"You are Rich Girl! I never even doubted in the beginning." He chucked shamelessly.
I was definitely trying to make Rich Girl confess her feelings to Sunshine!
He glanced between Hikaru and Mei, both of whom were still blushing and clearly feeling the awkward tension.
"Say… did something happen between you two?" Teshii asked, suspiciously.
"What do you mean?" Hikaru asked, eyebrows raised.
Teshii placed a hand under his chin, eyes wide behind the shades as he suddenly pieced it together.
"Don't tell me… you two kissed."
"W-What?!" Mei stammered, face turning red as a tomato.
"I can clearly imagine how it went." Teshii said, grinning. "You two were walking somewhere, and Hikaru tripped on something, fell toward Mei, and your lips touched… BAM! Accidental kiss!"
Silence.
Hikaru and Mei's jaw dropped as they glanced at each other – and then back at Teshii.
H-How does this guy know?!
"I'm only joking, guys!" Teshii laughed heartily.
Then–
BANG!
The three of them immediately turned toward the source of the loud BANG.
"What was that?" Hikaru asked, his voice alert.
"Not sure. It came from the living room." Teshii said, already stepping forward in the direction.
Hikaru and Mei quickly followed him.
As they entered the living room, they were met with a tense scene: Sora was on the floor, visibly shaking. Reina was crouched beside him, trying to help, while the rest of the team stood nearby, watching in concern.
"What happened?" Hikaru asked, eyes darting between Sora and Reina.
Satoshi turned around, arms crossed, and met Hikaru's gaze. Then his eyes shifted to Mei, studying her.
"Hikaru," he said, acknowledging him, before glancing at Mei. "Oh… you must be Mei Tomita, Hikaru's girlfriend."
A deep blush immediately bloomed on Mei's cheeks.
"N-No… I'm just Hikaru's friend," she said quickly, her voice faltering.
"Sunshine's soon-to-be-girlfriend," Teshii added smugly.
Without missing a beat, both Hikaru and Mei turned toward him with matching glares and–
POW!
–elbowed him in the ribs in perfect unison.
"Ow," Teshii muttered with exaggerated sarcasm, clutching his side. "So violent… yet so synchronized."
Hikaru let out a sigh and glanced over at Sora, who was still wearing his high school uniform.
Wait a minute…
Is Sora still in high school?
He turned his head toward Teshii.
"Is Sora a high schooler?"
"Yeah," Teshii nodded. "Zephyr is a high schooler."
"I see…" Hikaru replied, turning his eyes back to Sora, who was still on the floor, visibly shaking.
"Are you okay, Sora?" Reina asked gently, concern etched across her face.
"Y-Yeah," Sora stammered, his body rembling.
Reina extended a hand toward him, offering to help him up.
But–
When Sora saw her hand, he recoiled slightly, his trembling worsening.
"Sora?" Reina called again, her voice soft.
"I-I'm sorry," Sora murmured, still shaking as he stared down at the floor, refusing Reina's hand.
From across the room, Moriya – who had been sitting on the couch – stood up and calmly crouched beside him.
"Sora," Moriya called, his tone even.
Sora glanced at him, his eyes wide, still clearly rattled.
"Tell us… what's wrong?" Moriya asked, sincerely.
But Sora looked away from him, eyes averted.
Moriya's brow furrowed.
"Sora?"
"I'm sorry…" Sora said again, voice barely above a whisper. "But I don't think I can say it here."
"Why not?" Reito asked, curiosity flickering across his expression as he sat on the couch beside Haruto.
"Because… it's too… embarrassing," Sora admitted, eyes fixed on the floor.
"I'm sure it won't be embarrassing if you tell us, Sora," Satoshi said calmly, standing at the front of the room ahead of Hikaru, Teshii, and Mei.
But…
Sora remained silent.
Refusing to speak.
Refusing to meet their eyes.
Teshii stared at Sora and stepped forward, crouching down in front of him.
Sora glanced at Teshii, eyes wide.
"Mr. Teshii?"
Teshii gently wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders.
"C'mon, Zephyr. You can tell us," he said reassuringly.
But Sora remained silent, eyes low.
"You know…" Teshii began, "most people think the wind is wild. Unpredictable. But the truth is… the wind can also listen."
Sora looked up at him, confused.
"Huh?"
"If you're afraid of something… the wind can listen to that fear. It doesn't make you weak. It makes you human."
Sora blinked, trying to process Teshii's words.
"So what I'm trying to say, Zephyr…" Teshii continued, voice calm, "…just think of us as the wind."
Silence fell over the room.
Everyone stared at Teshii.
Why is everyone staring at me?
Did I say something weird again?
Then–
"Fine. I'll tell you guys."
Teshii blinked behind his shades, raising an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
Sora slowly stood up from the floor, his fists clenched at his sides. He exhaled a deep breath and then muttered:
"The truth is… I have a fear of… women."
Teshii smiled at first, nodding behind his shades.
"See! That wasn't hard, was it?"
Then – his eyes snapped open in shock.
"Wait?! You have a fear of women? Gynophobia?!"
"Y-Yeah…" Sora nodded, his voice barely audible.
"B-But why?!" Teshii said. "Women are great. And – and – they can give you a–"
POW!
In a flash, Teshii was flat on the floor, unconscious.
Standing above him, Reina held her fist out, clearly the one responsible for the knockout.
Ikazuchi chuckled from behind.
"Looks like Mrs. Ogata's the only one who can shut Teshii up."
Daichi crossed his arms and turned toward Sora, his expression curious.
"Sora, can I ask? Where did your gynophobia come from?"
Sora let out another sigh, then looked Daichi directly in the eye.
"It… came from my older stepsister. And her friends."
TO BE CONTINUED!!!