The past week had been a blur.
Kai had thought that staying away would make things easier—that by avoiding questions, she wouldn't have to lie. But as she walked through the halls, she felt Naomi's eyes on her before she even turned around.
She'd barely even made it to her locker before Naomi's voice cut through the hall.
"Kai."
She froze, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag.
She exhaled. Here we go.
She hadn't been ready for this—not yet.
"We need to talk." Naomi stepped in front of her, arms crossed, her voice carrying through the open locker door.
Kai forced a weak smile. "What do you mean?"
Naomi scoffed. "Are you serious? You disappeared for a week, and now you just—what? Act like nothing happened?"
Kai gripped the strap of her bag, staring at the tiled floor beneath her. "I can't tell you," she muttered.
Naomi crossed her arms. "You mean you won't tell me."
Kai avoided her gaze, instead closing her locker and walking down the hallway. "There's nothing to tell."
Naomi followed, her voice rising. "Are you hearing yourself? Something is wrong, and you won't tell me! I know you, Kai. If not me, who will you tell?!"
Kai remained silent.
"Kai."
Kai finally stopped in her tracks, turning to face Naomi. Her mouth opened, but the words refused to come out.
Instead, frustration spilled.
"What do you want me to say!?" The words came out harsher than she intended, her voice tight.
Naomi's expression didn't waver. "The truth."
Kai exhaled sharply, glancing away. Her grip on her bag strap tightened.
"I want to tell you…" she admitted, her voice quieter now. "But I can't."
Naomi held Kai's gaze for a long moment before exhaling sharply.
"Fine." She shrugged, though the tension in her shoulders didn't ease. Her expression remained firm. "Have it your way. But this isn't normal. You've even missed a couple of days since you took off last week."
She shook her head with a sigh. "I'm scared for you. And I'm not the only one. Whatever's going on… whether it has to do with Fazian or not, it's not just him you're shutting out."
Naomi lingered for a moment as if waiting for Kai to say something—anything. But when no response came, she exhaled sharply and turned on her heel, walking away without another word.
Kai watched her go, a knot tightening in her stomach. She wanted to call her back, to explain, to say something—but what could she say? The truth wasn't an option. And lying to Naomi, to Fazian, to everyone… that was already getting harder than she expected.
Her fingers curled around the strap of her bag. How much longer can I keep this up?
The hall suddenly felt quieter, heavier. Shaking off the thought, Kai turned toward her next class, but Naomi's words still clung to her.
She wasn't just shutting them out. And the worst part was… they weren't wrong to notice.
--
The clang of sparring weapons echoed across the training court, the rhythmic thud of feet pounding against the concrete ground as Nyota, Sage, and Kilo went through their routines.
"Your left foot, Kilo—watch your stance," Sage called out from the sidelines, arms crossed, watching his younger brother's every move.
Kilo huffed but didn't falter, swinging his wakizashi short swords with a mock flourish. "I'm not the one who's been training for years to be some 'fire-slinging master,' Sage," Kilo shot back with a grin, flicking his wrist as a small trail of red flames spiraled from his fingertips. "But hey, I guess I'm more than happy to leave the 'serious' stuff to you. Maybe you should loosen up. You're looking a little stiff."
Sage raised an eyebrow. "A little stiff, huh?" He stepped forward, his posture fluid as he readied himself. "We both know you don't want me back up there."
"Nyota, get your friend," Kilo called out, suddenly turning toward Nyota for help. "He's getting all serious on me again. You know I'm not a fan of his 'serious' phase."
Nyota smirked, watching the two siblings bicker as they always did. "If you're looking for me to stop Sage from getting serious, you've got the wrong person," he replied, waiting, posing to attack Kilo head on again. "You two are on your own with this one."
Kilo made a face as he returned his attention to Nyota, who was already positioning himself for a strike. "Fine, I'll take you on again, but I don't want to hear it when I win," he teased.
Just as their friendly sparring took another turn, a figure in typical EPSA police attire entered the premises with a small entourage, his boots striking sharply with the ground beneath him. Chief Warrant Officer Argus—tall, imposing, and with a no-nonsense look about him—strode toward them, a stack of papers clutched in hand. The trio halted, their playful bickering dying as they watched his approach.
"Warrant Officers—Atar and the Hikari's," Argus addressed them, his voice commanding attention as he stood tall. "You've all been summoned to a court hearing. Effective immediately. Per Sergeant Major Newton's request."
Argus thrust the papers into Nyota's hands before he could even speak. His fingers brushed the edge of the thick document, but it didn't take long for the reality to hit. Court hearing? His mind raced. The protest downtown, the chaos, the billboard they hijacked—the one that ended up with the Zteel insignia flashing across the skyscraper.
So, Elwin did catch wind of it. But that was the point… right?
"I'd advise you read those papers thoroughly. The hearing is scheduled for two days from now." Argus didn't wait for them to respond, turning on his heel with a sharp motion. "Good luck."
As the Chief Warrant Officer departed, the three of them stood in stunned silence.
Kilo blinked and then turned to Nyota, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice. "Well, that's one way to interrupt a training session."
Sage's face hardened as he scanned Nyota's expression, already piecing it together. "This is about the billboard, isn't it?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Great. Just when I thought the day couldn't get worse."
Nyota was about to respond when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Without thinking, he pulled it out and answered immediately.
"Aurora?" Nyota called, his voice tinged with worry. "Did you get the same papers we did?"
Aurora sat on a set of concrete steps close to where she'd been, casually smoking a cigarette. There was a moment of hesitation on her end before her voice crackled through the line. "I did."
Nyota glanced at the papers in his hands once more. "Elwin's behind it. We need to talk."
"I know," she casually took another puff, the smoke curling around her fingers before it vanished into the air. "There's reason to be scared, but this is exactly what we want. Tell Kai to get that basement ready. Tonight's gonna require some planning."
And that's exactly what Nyota did, as later that evening, all of Zteel gathered in her basement.
"We need to come up with an alibi," Sage started. "And since they called Aurora along with us, they must know we were all in Blueport."
"That's not it," Nyota added. "Elwin is Noriko's right-hand man. If he knows, Noriko must know everything about us, too."
"I get all that," Kilo added, "but this all means he would've had to guess it was us from the start, meaning he's been thinking about us this entire time, am I wrong? Ever since he killed Jora."
Nyota nodded. "Should've figured."
Kai sat silent at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed. She raised her hand to get their attention. "I don't mean to sound self-centered, but what does this mean for me?" She tried to keep her composure, but the thought of Noriko and her subordinates being on her trail struck fear into her heart. "What if they know about me? And if they've known about you for so long, how come they haven't come for us hard enough? Couldn't she have easily dealt with us by now?"
Nyota turned to her with a resolute expression. "That's my biggest worry—why they seem to be stalling on any big action. I doubt Noriko's sparing us out of the kindness of her heart. But I think you're fine. Unless she's sent somebody to spy on us, there's no suggestion at all that you're involved in anything."
"If they'd detected a hack in their information system and traced it back to its source, that project of yours would've been closed by now," Sage added. "Not only that, but you wouldn't even be alive. Their approach to all this comes across as sluggish. I'm almost confident you're in the clear."
"It's gonna be on me, mostly," Aurora concluded. She stood upright after leaning on one of the columns. "I was the one who gave you all the jurisdiction for our mission in Blueport."
Nyota shook his head. "I don't think so. It's like we said: they've had their eyes on us since day one."
Aurora sighed and closed her eyes. "Look, I'm not really in the mood for the scares and low energy. This is what we want, guys!" she sang. "This is what we expected." She looked at them, a smile creeping in.
Observing their distressed expressions, she said finally, "Alright, everyone. Gather 'round. Your big sis has got a plan."