Aegis wasted zero time.
"Alright," he said, rolling his shoulders, "let me show you why I'm here."
He took a deep breath.
His chest glowed, bright, silver-blue light swirling around him like a storm.Ketsuki hopped off his back and sat on a rock, completely unfazed.
"Transformation time!" she cheered.
The glow thickened-
Then BOOM.
Aegis stood clad in gleaming armor, etched with ancient lines and runes. A helmet formed over his head, a visor like a knight of myth. Plates interlocked so seamlessly they looked unbreakable.
Shichiro's jaw dropped."BRO. He's built like a final boss."
Katsu circled him, eyes sparkling."This is insane. What is this made of?"
Aegis shrugged. "My will, I guess."
Ryosen poked a gauntlet."…Harder than steel."
Rokuro crossed his arms. "Freeze-resistant?"
Aegis flicked him on the forehead. "Try it."
Rokuro froze his finger and tapped the armor.
Nothing.
Not even a scratch.
Kentarō stared. "Dude, do you know how useful you are?"
Aegis laughed. "I try."
They got to work.
Aegis raised shield domes to protect the camp.
Ryosen and Rokuro set up a lumber area.
Kentarō sorted scrap into piles labeled Useful, Very Useful, and Why Is This Bent Like That?
Katsu and Shichiro refined the blueprints with actual structure this time.
Little Ketsuki wandered around humming, handing out sticks she called "lucky charms."
Katsu accepted his."…This is literally a-stick."
"It's magic!" she insisted.
It wasn't.
But it made him smile anyway.
By sundown, for the first time, the town didn't look like a joke.
It looked real.
And Aegis looked at the boys, these weird, chaotic, hopeless boys, and smiled beneath his helmet. He was home too.