The camp was silent.
Even the wind seemed to have stopped speaking.
Kneeling, hands resting on my thighs, my katana stabbed into the dirt… I stayed motionless.
My eyes were fixed on a point—though I wasn't really seeing it.
Those two...
How do they get under my skin so easily?
My brows furrowed on their own.
A long sigh rose from my chest, slow and heavy.
They're a pain in the ass.
But their absence… this silence…
I lifted my head slightly.
It wasn't cold, yet I shivered.
Just like… the bottom of that cliff.
Endless. Echo-less. Still.
My thoughts dissolved into whispers inside me.
Are those two my real weakness?
Or is it something else?
Then came a sound.
No—
Not a sound, but a presence.
Footsteps.
The swish of a cloak.
A familiar figure emerging from the dust.
I didn't need to turn my head.
I'd recognize that rhythm anywhere.
Renji.
His steps always had the same measured cadence.
That calm, distant confidence never changed.
But somehow… he knew everything.
His voice was soft enough to vanish into the wind—
but the weight it carried pressed straight into my chest.
"Nearly ten years ago… do you remember that quiet boy waiting at the bottom of the cliff?
Same place. Same silence.
I'm not surprised this is your hiding spot."
I turned my head and looked at him.
His silhouette was like a shadow.
I spoke with a flat tone:
"You again?"
A twitch at Renji's lips.
Half smirk, half scold.
"Were you expecting someone else?
Maybe… two someones?"
I narrowed my eyes.
My tone stayed cold.
"You're more annoying when you're serious."
He tilted his head slightly.
"And you're always serious. Isn't that exhausting?"
I smirked,
"Less than faking smiles."
Renji stopped walking.
Then, with measured steps and careful words, he asked:
"What are you doing out here alone?
Your friends are looking for you."
I froze.
The word friends always sounded strange to me.
Foreign.
I repeated it under my breath.
"Friends…?"
He caught the hesitation.
Corrected himself quickly—more cautious now.
"Right. I meant your team."
My head lowered.
My voice came out muffled, half-whisper:
"My team…
There's only one left.
Only Watari."
Renji's expression shifted.
Something closer to a friendly.
Or… someone trying to be one.
"The twins told me the contract is over.
At first I didn't believe it.
How did they even beat you?
They haven't reached Third Flame."
I shook my head.
Tired, but honest.
"They used their brains."
A spark flickered in his eyes.
That spark always kept him alive.
"A clever trick, huh.
But I can't let you go soft, Hayato.
So…
let's see—
Can you beat me?"
His hand reached to me.
Something stirred inside me.
A memory from years ago.
A hand—
reaching toward me at the edge of the cliff.
Refusing to leave me behind.
Even when I was nothing but a broken thing, he offered silver.
And now… that same hand was reaching again.
Why?
Why are you pulling me out of the abyss again?
The twins are free.
But you…
You're tightening my chains.
I accepted his hand.
Renji stepped forward.
A leaf cracked beneath his foot.
Such a small sound.
"If you're ready… let's begin, Hayato."
Instinctively, I surged the Flame.
Third Flame – Stage Four.
My irises turned darker than blood red.
Energy pulsed through my veins—
but my temples felt like they were about to burst.
Renji didn't move.
He kept himself at Third Flame too.
Not a hint of tension.
The power didn't control him—
he commanded it.
"Give me everything you've got, Hayato," he said.
And then—
he vanished.
My eyes couldn't follow him.
But his voice—
a whisper—brushed my ear:
"I'm here."
I turned by reflex.
Swung my blade.
His katana met mine before I even registered the movement.
Steel struck steel.
The impact threw me back.
I rolled before hitting the ground—
but my balance was already broken.
"You've slowed down," Renji said,
diagnosing me like a patient.
"My head just hurts," I growled.
My vision blurred.
My reflexes were sharp… but my body—
It hurt.
My nerves burned.
Renji walked calmly.
Hands clasped behind his back.
He wasn't fighting.
He was observing.
"I've seen you grow stronger, Hayato.
But control is worth more than raw power."
Suddenly, he was in front of me.
He spun—kicked.
I raised my sword, but the blow overwhelmed it.
I was thrown.
My knees slammed into the dirt.
My lungs burned.
Third Flame – Stage Five.
Blood pressure surged.
My head… behind my eyes… all of it burned.
If I lose focus even for a second, this fight is over.
Renji approached.
His voice blended approval… and warning.
"Good.
You're testing your limits. But…"
He appeared in front of me again.
Grabbed my arm.
Our eyes locked.
"But your body doesn't want this."
His strike crashed into my ribs.
Air left my chest.
I dropped to one knee.
Pressed my hand into the ground.
My nails dug into the dirt.
I whispered to myself:
"Steady…
Find your—"
But…
The world dimmed.
Renji's voice faded first.
And my consciousness… slipped away.